Making A Connection
by Caliente
Summary: AU fic –– Who is Chris really? And what is she hiding? Follow all the drama at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Students. –– WARNING: somewhat OC-centric fic. Rogue/Gambit, Kitty/Pietro, with Amara/Bobby and Sam/OC. Note: SEQUEL HAS BEEN DELETED
1. The Fateful Meeting

Author's note: Okay, so this is my first real fan fiction. And yes, I know the title sucks but I am not creative enough to think of something better. Shit. Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that. Oh well. Also, this takes place at the end of the 3rd season, after "Under Lock and Key". Oh and when I say POV (point of view) I just mean that that's the person who the story is following at that point, it will not be in first person. Also, people don't think in their accents because that's too confusing. And sorry if my accents suck but I'm doing the best I can.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my doggie, Sampson. Not Marvel comic characters. Sadness.

telepathy

'inner thoughts'

_foreign languages_ (translations)

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 1 – The Fateful Meeting

Rogue's POV – Walking in downtown Bayville at twilight

A pretty brown haired girl rushed down the street. Even in the warm spring air she was clothed from head to foot. (A/N: Same outfit that she wore in the Christmas episode) Her plain brown hair was adorned by two striking white streaks that framed her face. She was around 5' 6", 16 years old, and had very nice curves. Her gorgeous emerald green eyes were pointed down as she tried to get back to the Xavier Institute where she lived. 'The street seems to be growing more and more crowded,' she grimaced. Being the only resident Goth, Rogue doesn't have to worry about many people approaching her, however crowds make her nervous. She's a mutant, one of many in the small town, and it is her mutation that makes her nervous around people. 'This is all Scott and Jeans fault. Gawd, if they would just go out to make out then I wouldn't have left,' Rogue thought angrily. 'I hate my "gift"; it's more like a curse. Damnit. I don't know what's worse, when people tip-toe around me or when they don't. I wish I could touch.' Her eyes began to fill with tears but she willed them away.

Rogue was pulled out of her self-pity when she bumped into a tall young man. She stumbled backwards but managed to catch herself before she fell. "Sorry," she mumbled in a slight Southern drawl. Her eyes stayed concentrated on the ground but she noticed he wore silver boots and a well-loved trench coat. 'Hmm… I've seen that outfit before,' she thought. A small box on the ground caught her eye. "Oh, Ah thank ya dropped this," she said picking up the box. It was a box of cards.

Rogue spun around to face him and gasped. In front of her was the card wielding mutant who had tried to blow her up and on their second meeting he called her "_chere (dear)" with a chauvinistic attitude. He was tall, about 6' 1", and his auburn hair was messy around his handsome face. He wore sunglasses to hide his red on black "demon" eyes. His outfit consisted of leather pants and a tight black shirt, both accented his lean but muscular build, with the trademark boots and coat. He looked a few years older than her, maybe in his late teens, early twenties. "You!" she whispered angrily. She glared daggers at him. "Heah," she thrust the cards at him, her accent more pronounced with her anger, "too bad Ah can't charge 'em."_

Rogue turned to stalk off but his gloved hand grabbed her arm. She flinched at the touch and tried to pull away. "Wait _chere_," he said in his sexy Cajun accent. Rogue grimaced at that name. "Gambit wan's t' talk wit' y'." He put his other hand on her shoulder and steered her over to a bench and sat down. She struggled against his grasp but he was stronger than her. He grabbed her other wrist and pulled her down so that she was sitting sideways on his lap. She let out a small yelp and flinched away but his arms snaked around her waist holding her down.

'Great,' she thought bitterly, 'now I'm stuck sitting on a psychotic Cajun. How much worse will to day get?' "What do ya want Cajun? Ah don't associate with the enemy. Especially not any of ol' Bucket Head's lackeys." she hissed angrily. "So let meh go!" She continued to squirm angrily against his grip.

"_Non_ (No), Gambit is comfy," replied the smooth talking man. "Now, what's a _belle fille (beautiful girl) like y' doing out all alone at nigh'? Somebody could try t' hur' y'." His tone was a calming one, though it had little effect on the angry Goth he was holding captive._

"Ah don't believe that's any of ya business," answered Rogue sassily. "But if Ah had known Ah was gonna run into a Swamp Rat Ah woulda neva left mah home. Let meh up! Now!" Her squirming resumed, though at this point she was beginning to realize that it was futile.

The Cajun smirked and leaned in close and his breath tickled her ear. "_Non, y' not going anywhere __chere. Swamp Rat, huh?"_

"It fit don't it, Bayou boy," Rogue snapped back, finally exhausting herself.

"Dis comin' from a Mississippi River Rat," he threw back.

Rogue glared angrily at him. "Couldn't thank of anythin' mo' creative?"

He chuckled, his chest rumbling against her side. Rogue shivered slightly at his touch. "Okay _chere_, Gambit will t'ink of a better pet name fo' y'. Well, _chere_ will do fo' now."

Rogue felt she had taken about enough. "Listen, first o' all, Ah ain't ya dear. Secondly, Ah don't know if ya're ignorant or just plain stupid but don't ya know who Ah am?"

"_Oui_ (yes). Y' be de Rogue, de untouchable one," Gambit grinned again, "but Gambit be very creative."

"Just leave meh alone," retorted Rogue. "Besides what makes Gambit thank that Ah would want ta be "creative" with him? An', Ah don't associate with thieves." Gambit looked at her curiously and she laughed at him. "Didn't thank Ah noticed when ya lifted mah wallet, did ya? Not like ya got much, probly just three or four dollars."

Gambit was surprised that she noticed but he masked it well. 'This girl is sassy and doesn't swoon over me like the others. I think I've found a challenge,' the Cajun thought. 'Doesn't hurt that she totally turns me on too. I wonder if she's noticed that all her squirming made me-' Rogue suddenly sat up straighter in shock, 'Yep, she noticed.' He pulled her wallet from one of his pockets and opened it. True to her word, there was only $3 inside. There were a few pictures of different members of the institute. He recognized many of the X-Men from Magneto's briefings. Only one of the pictures had Rogue in it, it was a picture with a blue elf and a petite brunette with her hair in a perky ponytail. He pocketed the picture before handing Rogue her wallet. "Y' more observant den Gambit expected _petite_ (little one)," replied the Cajun. "Here's y' wallet. Sorry _chere_, old habits die hard."

"Whatevah Swamp Rat," Rogue said angrily grabbing her wallet from him.

Before Gambit could respond, Pyro came running up to him. "Oy, Gambit mate!" he called to the Cajun. "We gotta go. There was an "accident" at the book store." Rogue saw him and her eyes suddenly filled with fear, though her expression remained one of calm anger. 'That's the psychotic fire mutant,' she recalled. She remembered his maniacal laughter and the scary glint in his eyes. Pyro continued talking, "Petey is already heading back. Dump the Sheila and let's get out of here."

"Pyro, _mon__ ami (my friend), Gambit be headin' back soon," replied Gambit calmly._

Pyro nodded and ran off. Rogue turned her head and looked at Gambit with a confused expression. Gambit just shrugged in response. "Too bad, Ah guess ya betta be off," Rogue stated in an obviously happy tone. "If ya'll just let me up-"

"Fine _chere," Gambit responded. "Y' win dis round. Don' t'ink dat Gambit will give up dough."_

He released her and she leaped up. She turned around and muttered, "Bah Swamp Rat."

Gambit grabbed her hand and planted a kiss. "Until we meet again _chere. _Au revior_ (Good-bye)." He gave a small salute and turned to follow Pyro's path. She watched him for a moment before shaking her head and heading toward the institute. It was now dark and when she finally arrived, she was glad for her coverings._

When Rogue entered the institute, she noticed the clock read 8:17. 'Crap,' she thought, 'That stupid Cajun kept me out late. I missed dinner. Damn him.' She sighed and head for the kitchen. She headed to the fridge and made herself a big sandwich. She was about to take a big bite when she heard a gruff voice from the window sill.

"Who's the boy, Stripes?" the voice grunted. Rogue squeaked and spun around almost dropping her food. She saw Wolverine sitting there smiling at her. He was a short, strong man who inspired fear in all of the students. Of course, having three claws in each hand that can slice through any material doesn't hurt either.

"Logan," cried Rogue breathlessly, "don't do that ta meh!" She smiled and shook her head. "Now what are ya talkin' about, sugah?"

"Ya were out late. Ya smell like cologne. Who is he?" Logan asked again.

"There is no "he" Logan," replied Rogue quickly. "There was just a guy Ah bumped into. We talked for a few minutes and then Ah headed home. Ah just walked further than Ah originally planned. That's why Ah'm late. Nothin' is goin' on."

"Sure thing Stripes," Logan said with a smile. "Whatever ya say."

Rogue just nodded and headed up to her room with her food. She ducked inside and sighed. 'That was strange,' Rogue thought. 'Why didn't I just tell him that one of Magneto's goons held me hostage?' A small voice answered her, 'Because you liked it. Because he flirted with you and you liked it. You like him. Plus you didn't want him to gore the poor boy.' Rogue argued with herself, 'No, I don't like him. It's just not possible. He's the enemy. I don't like him.' The small voice continued to argue with her.

A perky voice brought her out of her trance. "Like, where were you at dinner Rogue?" the Valley girl asked. Rogue looked up to see her roommate's bouncy brown ponytail and big blue eyes. The girl was shorter than Rogue and a year younger. She was very pretty and sat smiling from her bed.

"Hi Kitty," Rogue said, deliberately ignoring her question.

"So who's the guy?" the brunette asked innocently.

Rogue turned and stared at her roommate. "What're ya talkin' about?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"Well, I was, like, heading down to the kitchen when I heard Mr. Logan interrogating you," she responded her smile widening. "And I, totally, don't believe you're story. And neither does Mr. Logan."

"Kitty, Ah don't wanna talk about it," the Gothic girl replied. "An' Ah'm not seein' any guy."

"Well we all know that Mr. Logan's nose can, like, totally, smell everything. So, if you, like, smelled like cologne then he would, totally, know," Kitty reasoned.

Rogue glared at her. "Whatevah Kit," Rogue was tired of it. "Ah'm just gonna eat mah food, do mah homework and go ta bed."

"Fine Rogue," Kitty smiled again. "But this is, like, totally, not over."

Rogue just sighed and muttered, "Great, just great."

Here's the first chappy. See, Romyness galore. You know you love it. Tell me that you do. I have low self-esteem. Hehe. Adios for now. Be back soon.


	2. The Newest Recruit

Author's Note: Okay, here's another chapter and I know it's short but it's kind of a filler. In the next chapter I introduce my OC… but don't worry, she will in no way take over the story. There will be TONS of ROMY and some KIETRO too. No worries. I hope you like it.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 2 – The Newest Recruit

Kitty's POV – About 3 P.M. on Saturday afternoon at the Charles Xavier Institute for Gifted Children

A girl approached the Charles Xavier Institute for Gifted Children. Her long curly dark brown hair with natural light brown highlights was twisted up with curls spilling over the back of a clip. Her pale grey eyes were accentuated by dark black eyeliner. The girl was average height with light tan colored skin. Her ears had two studs each and the left ear had two silver hoops in the cartilage (A/N: top of the ear). She wore a silver thumb ring, bunches of thin black bracelets on her wrists, and a silver necklace with another silver ring with an intricate design resting on her chest. She had on an orange ¾ length baseball style shirt on, light orange in the center with dark orange sleeves and a pair of black drawstring cargo pants. The shirt clung to her curvy figure while the pants hung loosely. Her outfit was finished with black combat boots that added an inch to her height. She had a dark green duffel bag slung across her back, the strap on her chest, and approached the door looking slightly antsy.

Knock, knock. The door creaked open on the large mansion.

"Hello?" her voice echoed in the large hall. She pushed the door open further and took a step in. "Is anybody here?" she tried again.

Suddenly a head came up from the floor. It was a girl with brown hair pulled into a neat ponytail and deep aqua eyes and appeared to be wearing some kind of spandex uniform. The new girl's eyes widened significantly as the rest of the girl appeared above the floor.

"Like, hi," she said in a Valley Girl accent, as if it was normal for people to appear out of the floor. "Can I help you? Oh, I'm Kitty Pryde."

Before the girl could respond, Professor Charles Xavier's voice came into Kitty's head.

Kitty, please show our guest to my office. Also, assemble the others in the Briefing Room when you have finished. Oh and please do not phase any more around our guest.

Like, okay Professor. No problem the girl answered happily.

Kitty took the girls hand and silently led her into the Professor's office. The Professor nodded curtly when the two girls entered. Kitty took that as her cue to leave, silently shutting the door behind her. Before she left, she thought she heard the Professor say "Hello Christina" but she wasn't sure. After leaving the room, she phased down into the Danger Room and approached Logan and Ororo in the control section.

"Mister Logan, Miss Monroe," Kitty began cautiously, "the Professor wanted to, like, assemble the X-Men in the Briefing Room. He's talking to this girl in his office."

Logan grunted in acknowledgement. "Alright kids," he said into the microphone, "today's session is over. Please change and assemble in the Briefing Room in 10 minutes."

The kids began to chatter curiously and Kitty phased down to join them. She was immediately bombarded with questions.

"Is something wrong?" started Scott's worried voice. His face showed concern behind his visor.

"Ah thank if there was a problem, the Professah would have warned us himself," Rogue responded sarcastically in her Southern Belle accent.

Cyclops glared at her briefly before turning back to Kitty expectantly. Scott was still miffed that Rogue no longer gave him the attention she once had.

Kitty stifled a giggle. 'I bet that guy that she met with last night is the reason Scott has suddenly dropped of Rogue's radar.' It had taken a while for Kitty to get it out of her roommate, but she finally got Rogue to all but admit that she had finally found an attractive guy that she liked. The perky Valley girl was ecstatic for her best friend.

Kitty, focus! Jean abruptly invaded Kitty's thoughts. What's going on? Who was at the door?

Jean! Like, get outta my head! Kitty answered angrily at the red haired telepath. She glared at Jean, focusing her angry energy at the girl. Jean just sighed and put up her hands in surrender.

"Keetty," Kurt's German accent interrupted her telepathic fight with the Jean. Kitty turned to look at the fuzzy blue boy with three fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot. "Don't leave us hangin' gurl!"

"Like, leave me alone!" yelled Kitty, finally having enough. "I don't know what's going on! All I know is that some girl, like, totally, showed up at the door and the Professor asked me to show her to his office. I think he might have called her Christina or something. Then he said to gather the others in the Briefing Room." She sighed out of exasperation with her teammates.

Cyclops, regaining control of the situation, decided to take a course of action. "Okay team, let's change and go to the Briefing Room like the Professor told us to."

'Like, duh,' Kitty was at the end or her rope. 'Isn't that what I said? Whatever!' She huffed out of the room, followed closely by Rogue. The rest looked after her for a moment before deciding to go themselves.

"Geez, vhut vus dat all about?" Kurt murmured to himself before he teleported out too.

Review!! You know you want to. :) Adios for now.


	3. Introducing

Author's Note: Okay, so this is another chapter about the OC but the next chapter is heavy on the ROMYness, I swear! And the two chapters after that both have Romy in it. Anyway, I saw Dark Horizons Part 2 yesterday and it was pretty good. I missed part 1 though so I'm bummed 'casue I heard that Rogue kisses Gambit. Sadness. I'm sorry, I know you don't care but it's not like people actually read these things. Hehe. So here it is…

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 3 – Introducing…

Chris's POV – In Professor Xavier's office

"Christina, I'm glad you decided to join us. I know that you were hesitant when your mutant powers first manifested themselves, but I feel you could make good progress here," the Professor started, trying to make the new girl more comfortable. "I just wanted to –"

"Professor," the girl named Christina cut in with her mild Boston accent, "I always wanted to come. You don't have to convince me. I had to work on my aunt and uncle to allow me to leave home, but finally I told them that I was old enough to decide what was good for me. I am ready to learn and I would love to be an X-Man. Or should I say X-Woman." Christina smiled a friendly grin toward the Professor. "And I usually go by Chris, not Christina."

'Oh and Professor,' Chris projected, knowing the Professor could hear her, 'don't bother trying to read me, I can deflect psychic energies too.' She had learned to use this power to her advantage when she was around "spooks" or telepaths.

The Professor turned and went into an adjoining room filled with people. Chris hesitated, waiting to be invited or introduced or something.

"Hello," Professor Xavier's voice dominated the room. Suddenly all of the chitchat halted and all of the students looked up expectantly. "I would like to introduce our new student, this is Christina Isabella Cruz. She is a fifteen-year-old freshman who will be joining you at Bayville on Monday. She's from Boston, Massachusetts and I expect you to make her feel welcome."

Immediately a nice looking girl that was a little shorter than Rogue stepped into the room. She had light tan skin and curly dark brown hair with light brown highlights that was twisted up by a claw-like clip with the hair falling back over the clip. Her eyes were a very pale grey color enhanced by black eyeliner. She wore 6 earrings, two studs in each ear and two silver hoops in her left ear's cartilage. She also wore a silver thumb ring and another silver ring, with an intricate design on a silver chain around her neck. She also had a ton of black rubber bracelets on both wrists. She had an athletic but curvy figure that was accentuated by her baggy black drawstring cargo pants and form fitting orange 3/4-length baseball shirt. She finished with wearing bulky black combat boots.

"_Hola_ (Hello)," she shot the Professor a look, "and I go by Chris." The new girl's expression was blank and calm, like a poker face as she began while assessing the people in the room. She noticed that a very pretty red haired girl stole a glance with an attractive brown haired boy with ruby colored glasses. She could tell that they had a deep affection and seemed to be the perfect little prep and prepette of the institute. Next she noticed a boy with black hair. He looked at her curiously and she realized that what she saw was not really him. She wondered why he had a false image. The pretty brown haired girl who had come through the floor sat next to him, Chris remembered her name was Kitty. At this moment, she looked slightly put off, and Chris hoped that it was not because of her presence. She figured it wasn't her though because earlier she had gotten the impression that this girl was bubbly and perky. The girl next to Kitty was dressed completely in gothic garb with auburn colored hair that had two shocking streaks of white in the front. She was gorgeous but Chris could tell by her body language that she lacked any self-confidence. Everything about her suggested that she was hiding from everyone and everything, including her emotions. There were two adults standing by the Professor, one was a savage looking man. He appeared to be a loner and didn't seem to be too interested in anything. The other adult was a stunning woman with dark skin, white hair, and beautiful blue eyes. She seemed almost Goddess-like, and Chris had a feeling that the woman knew it.

"Students, why don't you introduce yourselves to Chris," the stunning woman suggested. "I believe you already met Kitty, codename Shadowcat," the woman said while gesturing toward the brown haired girl, "and I, child, am Ororo Monroe. My codename is Storm because my power is to manipulate the weather. I am one of the teachers here at the Xavier Institute. This is Logan, codename Wolverine, and he is another teacher here," Storm continued gesturing toward the savage man.

Logan grunted in acknowledgement of Chris.

"Hi Kitty," Chris addressed the younger girl first. "Hello _Señora_ (Mrs.) Monroe and _Señor_ (Mr.) Logan."

"_Ja_ (Yeah) and I am Kurt Vagner (Wagner), also known as Nightcrawler. My powers are to teleport from one spot to anozer instantaneously," said the boy with the false image. He proceeded to demonstrate by porting from his seat to behind her. He tapped her on the shoulder, and then ported back to his seat again. He grinned widely at her.

"Yeah, only drawback is that, totally, fowl brimstone and sulfur smell," muttered Kitty.

Kurt shot her a glare at her for a moment before turning back to Chris.

"Hi Kurt," Chris replied kindly, "May I ask why you have a false image?"

Kurt shot a questioning look at the Professor.

It's alright Kurt the Professor told him, you may show her your true appearance.

Kurt fussed with his image inducer, which looked like an ordinary watch. All of a sudden, the black haired boy was gone and a fuzzy blue boy stood in front of Chris.

"Oh," Chris stared in surprise. After a moment she offered him a half-smile and said, "I like you better this way. It's so much more honest."

Kurt smiled back, looking quite relieved and threw in, "Vat can I say? Chicks dig ze fuzzy dude."

I'm Jean Grey the red head offered. I'm happy you could join us. My powers are telepathic in nature. I also have the power of telekinesis.

Chris smiled at this comment. That's cool. And, I'm glad to be here as well, Jean.

"I'm Scott Summers codename Cyclops, the fearless leader of the X-Men" the brown haired boy mentioned jocularly with a friendly smile that didn't reach his serious demeanor. "I wear these glasses because my powers can not be controlled. Without them, a force beam is emanates from my eyes."

"Well, on the upside, you always get to look cool with the shades," Chris offered joking right back. "It's really nice to meet you Scott."

After a moment, the last girl with the white streaks in her hair finally spoke up with a distinct Southern drawl. "Ah'm Rogue. When people touch meh skin Ah absorb their memories and if they're mutants Ah absorb their powers. Often times they will end up passed out or in comas." She looked satisfied with ending on this depressing note, but after a look from the other X-Men she managed a small smile and added, "It's nice ta meet ya Chris."

"Hey Rogue, it's nice to meet you too." Chris smiled and added innocently, "Say, you seem like the type of person who has an awesome CD collection, am I right?"

"Yeah, Ah guess. Why?" asked Rogue looking curiously at the new girl.

"I love music. Especially teenage angst stuff," replied Chris, "I can tell we're gonna be good friends." She smiled at the gothic girl.

Much to her surprise, Rogue smiled back.

After a long pause, the Professor decided to prod Chris a little. "Chris, why don't you tell the students about yourself?"

Chris immediately began to feel nervous and tried desperately to regain her composure. "Okay Professor," her voice was hesitant at first. "I've been fluent in _Español, oh, that means Spanish, since I was a _niña_, um, little girl. _Mi_ __familia (My family) always lived in Boston even though _mi_ __mamá (my mom) is from Columbia and __mi __papá (my dad) is from England. However, for the past few years my two __hermanas, er, sisters, and I lived with my _tía___ y tía, oh, that's uncle and aunt, since __mis_ padres_, I mean my parents, were unable to care for us. _Mi familia_ thought it was important for us to learn _Español_ as well as other languages. I _jugo_, oh, I mean play, a lot of sports for fun and I love to dance. Er, I tend to slip in scattered words in _Español_ when I'm _nerviosa_, I mean nervous." Chris blushed, obviously flustered, but shrugged it off and continued anyway, "I have some weapon skills, as well as training in boxing, gymnastics, and yoga. I'm also well versed in many styles of martial arts. Umm... so, I guess I'll tell you about my powers–"_

"Charles," Logan interrupted, "why not have Beanie show us?"

"Beanie?" Chris repeated hesitantly with a confused look on her face.

"Ya from Bean Town, ain't ya kid?" Wolverine asked smiling.

"Yeah but I-" Chris tried to protest.

"So Beanie fits," Logan interrupted his feral smile widening.

"Excellent idea Logan," agreed the Professor, effectively ending the conversation. "X-Men, why don't you change back into your team uniforms and meet in the Danger Room in 20 minutes. Jean, will you please show Chris to Rahne and Jubilee's old room. Kurt, could you help her with her luggage. Chris, after you settle in, Rogue and Kitty will show you to the Danger Room. Also, don't be surprised if you run into other people. The young ones are the newer students and the big blue hairy man named Dr. McCoy. I didn't want to alarm you with too many new people."

The students all nodded and began to exit the room. The red haired telepath and Chris hung back.

"If you'll excuse me," Storm stated smiling at the new girl, "I must take my leave. It was very nice to meet you child."

Jean led Chris up the stairs and to the left wing. She led the younger girl to the end of the hall on the right.

"This is it," Jean told her with a smile. "Amara and Tabitha, two new recruits are across the hall and I'm next door. If you'll excuse me, I need to change."

"_Gracias._ (Thank you.)" Chris replied with a small smile. She turned to survey her room and immediately noticed that Kurt had brought her bag into her room. Chris decided that her outfit was probably not appropriate for a room with the word danger describing it. She looked into the bag and found a pair of light grey sweatpants, a white racer back shirt made for running and exercising that showed some midriff, and a pair of white New Balance running shoes. With her midriff exposed, her silver belly button ring became visible. She quickly pulled her hair back into a curly ponytail, letting a few stray curls frame her face. Suddenly, Kitty phased through the wall and grabbed Chris's hand. The girls smiled at each other before phasing down into the Danger Room with Rogue.

"_Gracias _Kitty," Chris said smiling, "But, uh, how am I supposed to find my way back to my room, I mean I can't really phase myself through the walls." Chris paused looking around at the room for the first time. "Why is this room called the Danger Room anyway? I mean it doesn't seem very dangerous or anything."

"Wait 'til Logan starts a simulation, sugah," answered Rogue. "Then ya'll understand." She glanced at Chris's belly ring, "An' nice bellah ring."

Chris smirked and was about to respond when Kurt teleported into the Danger Room without his holoimager and Chris gave him a huge smile. She ran up, hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "_Muchos__ gracias (Thanks a lot) for taking my bags into my room for me," Chris smiled._

"_Bitteschön_ (You're welcome)," Kurt replied blushing slightly.

There was a swooshing noise as Jean, Scott, and Logan entered the Danger Room.

"Okay, let's see what you got Beanie," Logan said, "oh, and half-pint, maybe you could show Chris how to get from her room to the Danger Room without you."

Kitty blushed slightly at this remark and replied, "Like, sorry. Geez, if I had known it would be such a big deal I would've walked here and been late."

"Umm, Logan," Chris started looking a little flushed, "I can't just show my power."

"Why not kid? Do you not have control?" Logan asked looking surprised at this remark.

"No, I have some control…" Chris trailed off.

"Then what is it?" Logan asked scrutinizing her.

"Uh, you see, my power is that I can absorb all kinds of _energía_ (energy), like electricity and lasers. I can store the _energía__ for a limited time or allow it to dissipate. I can also deflect _energía_ and use the stored _energía_ at my discretion, as a weapon. I can demonstrate if you have a laser or something," Chris explained hesitantly._

"I have a better idea," Logan grunted, "One-eye, why don't you hit her with your best shot."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked looking surprised at his request.

"Just do what I ask okay? Otherwise I'll have Stripes here absorb you and she can do it for you," Logan answered looking like his patients had run out.

"Alright," said Cyclops incredulously.

With the flick of his visor, he immediately aimed toward Chris. She stood very still and simply put out her hand. She was able to deflect the beam toward any target she wished with her hand. Then let her hands down and appeared to be absorbing the energy. Where her eyes had been pale grey, they were now red – the same color as the beam – and her body seemed to glow red slightly, like an aura. She held her hands out in front of her like she was holding a ball. There was a red energy ball forming between her two hands and then with the flick of her wrist she sent it toward the wall where it made quite a dent. Finally, she showed that she could simply absorb and store the energy in her body and it would dissipate slowly if she did not concentrate on it.

Chris felt fear begin to wash over her body. She started to whimper slightly as she brought her hands to her forehead with her eyes closed, she was losing control. Her face looked pained and she managed to gasp, "_Ayúdeme__ (Help me). It's too much energy. I can't store it all!" Her feet left the ground and her eyes flew open. Her pain was plainly visible to the entire team. Cyclops tried to stop the flow of energy but he was too late. Suddenly, Chris let out a blood-curdling scream and her whole body sent out the energy it had been bottling up. It was a huge shockwave of energy in every direction that left all of the X-Men knocked out. Her energy spent, Chris passed out and began to drop to the ground from her spot about 12 feet in the air. Wolverine was able to recover, thanks to his healing factor, and caught her before she hit the ground. Chris managed to mutter, "_Gracias mi héroe._ (Thank you my hero.)" before she passed out from shear exhaustion. The other X-Men started to wake up rubbing their heads and asking what happened but Logan was already gone. He rushed Chris to the med lab._

Thank yous:

X Grls: I tried to cut down on the Valley girlness, you were right…too much! Thanks for the compliments!

Sarah: I'm glad you like it. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter too.

Yumiko: I hope you're not too disappointed that this is another OC chapter. I promise that the next three chapters have Romy or implied Romy. There will be tons of Romy, I promise!

Thanks to those who reviewed. And those who didn't… please do! I'm desperate. Okay, not really but I love getting reviews. Even if you want to insult, it will make me a better writer… hopefully. Adios for now


	4. The Theif Steals a Heart

Author's Note: Romy time, you know you love it. I love their relationship SO much!! Sorry, I'm gushing like a lunatic.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 4 – The Thief Steals a Heart

Rogue's POV – After dinner in Kitty and Rogue's room

"ROGUE!" shouted Kitty from their room, "get in here, like, NOW!"

"What is it Kitty?" Rogue asked running in and panting slightly. "Is everythin' alright?"

"There are a flower and a present on your bed," the younger girl answered excitedly. "Who's it from? What is it? Ohmigod, you have a secret admirer."

"Slow down Kitty," said Rogue in a nonchalant sort of way. She sat on her bed and picked up the rose. It was beautiful. She smelled the flower slowly before noticing the card. It was a playing card, with the King of Hearts on one side. On the other side there was a message. _Mon chere. Vous êtes la fille la plus belle que Gambit a jamais rencontrée. Gambit vous verra bientôt. Jusque-là, au revoir. (My dear. You are the most beautiful girl that Gambit ever met. Gambit will be seeing you soon. Until then, good-bye.) Rogue's eyes widened slightly. She moved to the box and opened it. Inside was a long sleeved peasant top, it was dark green to match her eyes. Rogue slowly removed the shirt and held it to her body carefully examining it. Kitty gasped slightly when she saw the shirt._

Kitty had been patient long enough. "So?" she prodded her best friend. "Who's it from?"

Rogue turned to look at her as if in a daze. "Gambit," she replied softly.

"OHMIGOD?!" Kitty shouted in shock. "Wow. You argue with a guy once and he sends you gifts. Life is, like, so unfair sometimes." Kitty sat on her bed with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Can I see what you got?"

Rogue nodded numbly and offered the card to Kitty as she lifted the rose up again. She moved onto the balcony and looked out at the view in a dazed state.

"Pssst. _Chere (dear)," whispered an urgent voice._

"Gambit?" inquired Rogue quietly so that her perky roommate wouldn't hear.

Suddenly a dark figure swung down from the roof onto her balcony next to her. Rogue looked shocked as she turned to face the handsome Cajun man. His spiky brown hair was a little messy and he was slightly unshaven. She saw that Gambit was in his Acolyte outfit. He had on black slacks and a tight grey and red shirt that showed off his muscles along with his trademark trench coat and silver combat boots. She looked into his eyes; the deep red on black eyes seemed to bore into her soul. He smelled of Cajun spices and cigarettes, the same as the night before. He was standing very close to her and she became very aware of that fact when Gambit's arms reached around her waist. She immediately flinched but and tried to pull away.

"Don' worry," Gambit said huskily, "Remy won' hur' y' none."

"What the hell ya doin' here anyway Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked, with a touch of sass. "If Logan catches ya, ya're dead. And, last time Ah checked, we were still enemies. Or have ya forgotten that charged card ya so kindly handed meh when we first met or yer rudeness at our last two encountas?" She threw her famous Death Glare at him but he only smiled in return. 'Stupid Cajun,' Rogue thought. She was feeling angry and exhilarated by his flirtations toward her and that made her confused.

"It be wort' gettin' gored by de Wolverine if it meant Remy could see y', _mon_ chere_ (my dear)," answered Remy smoothly. "An' Remy wasn' gon' hurt y', he only charged de card enough t' knock y' down. Plus, Remy was never rude t' y', he was charmin' and-"_

"Unwelcome," Rogue interjected, looking away so he wouldn't see her blush. She was wondering if he knew just how hot he looked with that smirk. She figured he probably did, after all, he was a smooth talking Cajun. But why was he talking to her? Magneto must have told him she couldn't touch. 'Stop it girl!' Rogue scolded herself. 'You can't fall for the enemy, and this boy is definitely the enemy. He's dangerous and definitely a bad boy and nothing like Scott. He probably only wants a challenge with me. Damnit. Why can't I get him off my mind?' "Say, how did ya know mah size?" She was very curious, then remembering her Goth attitude and added, "And don't call meh _chere_!"

"Remy can tell y' size by watchin' y' _chere," Remy replied with a smirk, his gloved hand grabbing her face and turning it toward him. Her big green eyes stopped the thief for a moment and their beauty struck him. 'I could really fall for this __belle femme (beautiful woman),' he thought. '_Non_, she's just a challenge. Every good thief should challenge himself. I never back down from a challenge.' A little voice in the back of his head told him otherwise._

"Don' call meh _chere!" hissed Rogue, throwing another Death Glare his way. "An' who asked ya ta give meh gifts anyway?"_

"Remy jus' wanted t' let y' know he is t'inkin' of y'," he replied smirking again, pulling her face closer to his with his gloved hands. "_Chere, vous êtes bien plus beau quand vous êtes fou. (Dear, you are even more beautiful when you are mad.)"_

"_Je parle français que vous savez_ (I speak French you know.)," Rogue responded trying to pull away from him. His grip was too strong for her. She scowled slightly but gave in.

"_Qui ledit _Remy_ n'a pas voulu que vous le comprissiez__? (Who said Remy didn't want you to understand him?)" asked Remy with innocent eyes._

"_Le _Cajun_, ce qui suis moi allant faire avec vous?_ (Cajun, what am I gonna do with you?)" she inquired shaking her head with a small smile and rolling her eyes. 'Damnit, why am I flirting with him? I don't flirt!'

"Remy _a quelques idées (Remy has a few ideas)," Remy said with another smirk._

'Does he have another facial expression?' Rogue wondered. 'I bet he just knows how cute his smirk is. Damn, there I go again with his looks. Can't get attached. He's the enemy.' "_Ferme-la (Shut up) Swamp Rat," Rogue smiled playfully and swatted at him._

"Rogue," called Kitty from inside, "close the balcony door would you. It's cold."

"Guess ya have ta go again. So sad," said Rogue with light sarcasm, but loosing herself in his eyes once more.

"Remy be seein' y'," Gambit answered with that same smirk. "So don' fret _mon__ cher."_

"Wha–" started Rogue, but he just saluted and bowed (A/N: Same as their first encounter in "Day of Reckoning Part 2") and then he was gone. Rogue headed back inside deep in thought. She was wondering what it was that he knew and she didn't and slightly dazed by the encounter. As she reentered the room, Kitty just stared at her with a goofy smile on her face.

"Told you that you liked him," the younger girl muttered under her breath.

"Ah do not!" Rogue cried in defense. "Wait. How much did ya heah?"

"Let's just say, that I, totally, regret not taking French now," answered Kitty still smiling.

Rogue just stared at her roommate, speechless.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bobby's (Iceman) POV – A short time later in the common room

"So, is she hot?" Bobby, a.k.a. Iceman and resident practical joker, asked.

Amara, a.k.a. Magma, shot him a Death Glare to rival Rogues. It was no secret that they liked each other and Amara had been very disappointed that Bobby had yet to ask her out.

"Try to show some compassion," answered Scott quickly. "I mean, she just got here and already she's in the med lab."

"Well, now, that's more your fault than hers isn't it?" Bobby continued oblivious to Amara's glares and Scott's guilty expression.

Scott's eyes narrowed as he glared at Bobby and silently felt renewed guilt.

"No, Bobby," Jean replied for Scott, "Scott stopped the beam but it was too late, the damage was done. It was nobody's fault."

"Sure, sure," Bobby muttered under his breath. Then he turned to Amara with what he apparently thought was a winning smile. Amara just continued to glare at Bobby, not ready to forgive him.

Just then Kitty and Rogue entered the room, arguing as usual.

"Listen Rogue," Kitty cried exasperated, "you, like, totally, like him. Just admit it to yourself and get out of this bad mood already."

"Kitty," Rogue responded harshly, "leave it alone! Ah don't wanna talk about it!"

"Fine!" shouted Kitty in response, "just admit you like him and I'll let it go."

"Ah do not like him!" Rogue yelled.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do n–"

Cut it out you two! Jean scolded.

"Stay out of my mind!" shouted both Kitty and Rogue together. Then they looked at each other and started to laugh.

Everybody in the common room was now staring at them.

"What are y'all lookin' at?" Rogue asked looking around the room confused. "Haven't ya eva seen two friends argue befo'?"

"Well obviously," stated Bobby matter-o-factly, "I mean we live with you two–"

"Bobby!" shouted just about everybody in the room, glaring at him.

Amara began to snicker, sending him a sympathetic look. Apparently she had forgiven him.

Bobby grinned at Amara causing her to blush. The kids in the room all stared at them for a moment before heading back to their respective activities.

Hope you liked it. Read. Review. Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top. I'd offer you money if I had some. But I don't. Sorry to disappoint. I'm not too happy about it myself. Okay, off topic. Read. Review. Please.


	5. Late Night Talks and Gifts

Author's Note: Okay, so this is another filler chapter. It's mostly concentrated on Chris but there is ROMY hinting and… well just read it. You know you want to.  Not that I could blame you, after all I wrote it. Hehe. Or maybe you'll read it despite that. *crickets chirp* Well I think I'm funny. That makes one.

Shout outs!!

Ishandahalf: Sorry I meant to give you props earlier but… my bad. And I LOVE the word UBER!! I use it all the time. You rock and thanks for reviewing my other stories as well.

Green sandels88: Thanks for the review! I hope you like the new chappy.

Rika-Chan: I love Logan's nicknames too. I tried to think of a good one for my OC but "Beanie" was the best I could do. What can I say? Thanks for the props.

Ladychopsticks: I know the 3rd chapter was being mean. I fixed it though. I'm glad you like it so far.

Rogue Pryde: Wow, you might give me a big head. I'm glad you like it! Means a lot.

UnMedicated One: Well, when you offer sugar, how could I say no? I'm hurrying with the chapters.

Barbara Ruiz: I think Scott is too dense to realize that Rogue liked him. It's more like he was on the receiving end of Rogue's sarcastic comments and he didn't appreciate it. He's also not used to Rogue being bitchy to him.

Sarah: Wow, you're so sweet. Thank you. I'm happy you like my fic. Hope you like the new chappy.

Beth: Well, this chappy has slight Romy but the next one is full out Romy interaction. Promise.

Without further ado… back to your regularly scheduled fanfic:

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 5 – Late Night Talks and Gifts

Dr. McCoy's POV – After dinner in the med lab

How is Chris? the Professor inquired to Dr. Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast. The man was probably the kindest person to ever walk the Earth, but his mutation caused him to sprout blue fur and a beast-like exterior. He was one of the most brilliant medical minds in the world.

She's just exhausted from her experience Hank answered. I only wonder how it happened, Chris seemed to have control over her powers…

I know Professor Xavier replied It was quite unexpected. I suspect that though Chris knows a great deal about her powers, she is not always in complete control.

I see Hank thought. I will alert you when she has woken up.

That's not necessary Hank the Professor told the kind Doctor. Hold Christina overnight for observation. Ms. Cruz and I will talk tomorrow in my office.

Very well Charles Hank agreed. I will talk to you in the morning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rogue's POV – Later that night in Rogue and Kitty's room

"Rogue," Kitty whispered impatiently. "Are you, like, awake?"

"Ah am now!" Rogue groaned back. "What do ya want Kitty?"

"Why won't you tell me if you like him or not?" Kitty whined slightly.

"Leave it alone Kit-Kat!" Rogue hissed. "Don't tell meh, ya woke meh up for that?"

"No," replied Kitty. "I woke you up 'cause of that." The younger girl pointed to the balcony.

Rogue got up from her bed and walked over to her dresser. She saw a beautiful bouquet of red roses and a beautiful necklace. The necklace was silver with an emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds shaped like a heart in the middle. Again the card was a playing card, however this time it was the Queen of Hearts. The card only had one word written on it, _Chere. Rogue gaped at the necklace and roses for a moment and then walked back into the room holding them. Kitty squealed with excitement as Rogue moved silently across the room._

Rogue showed Kitty the necklace and then took the roses. "Ah'm gonna go put these in wata," she said softly as she exited the room, leaving her roommate speechless once again.

Rogue silently made her way down into the kitchen. Once she got there, she removed a vase and filled it with water. Rogue placed the flowers in the vase and arranged them so that they looked extra nice.

"Who're the roses from Stripes?" came a low voice from the windowsill.

"Logan, ya startled meh," Rogue replied, deliberately avoiding the question.

"Sorry Stripes," Logan grunted. "But ya still didn't answer my question."

Rogue sighed, knowing there was no way to avoid the question any longer. "Remy LeBeau," she answered slowly. 'At least Logan won't know who that is', the girl thought.

"So, is that what Gambit's real name is?" Logan asked innocently.

"But, but, how did ya… Ah mean, how could ya –" Rogue spluttered.

"Look Stripes," Logan took a sip of his drink, "I have the heightened senses, remember? I could smell that Cajun on you. Also, I heard y'all talking earlier on the balcony. I don't know many people who speak French and could get around the mansion security system."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Well if ya knew, why didn't ya say anythin' or stop him or somethin'?"

"Figured if he did anything wrong, you would drain him so fast…" Logan trailed off. He saw Rogue blushing slightly and he let out a small sigh, "Plus, you seem to really like him and vice versa. Maybe you can save him from Magneto." 'If he hurts her, I'll slice and dice him so fast,' Logan comforted himself slightly at the thought of sliced Gumbo.

"Okay," Rogue looked down, she wasn't sure what else to say. "Ah guess Ah better be headin' back ta bed. 'Night Logan."

"'Night Stripes," Logan replied. "Sweet dreams."

A shadowy figure watching her as she went back to bed. ''Night _chere_,' he thought before making his way off of her balcony.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chris's POV – The next morning in the med lab

"Oooh, _mi cabeza, mis brazos, mis… todos (my head, my arms, my… everything)," Chris moaned, struggling to sit up strait. "¿_Qué sucedió? ¿Dónde estoy?_(What happened? Where am I?)"_

"Just lay back child," came a soothing male voice. "You short circuited your powers yesterday. After the burnout, you passed out. Right now you're in the med lab. And, although you didn't ask, I am Dr. Henry McCoy or Hank." Chris looked for the source of the voice and saw a furry blue man. He had a beast-like appearance but his tone was soothing and he had a smile on his face. Chris smiled back briefly before concentration on her memories once more.

"Oh," Chris replied after a moment, still sorting through the memories of the day before. "_¿Dónde están mis maneras? Hola el doctor McCoy, es muy agradable satisfacerle._(Where are my manners? Hello Doctor McCoy, it is very nice to meet you.)"

"Would you like to go back into your own room?" Dr. McCoy inquired.

"_Sí__, por favor (Yes, please)," Chris answered quietly. She was still thinking about what had happened with her and Cyclops. It was quite odd because she had never lost control quite like that before and it worried her. Sure she only had partial control over her energy absorption but she had never had an energy burst like that occur._

"Oh, before you go, perhaps you should know that you're speaking in Spanish," commented Dr. McCoy with a small smile.

Chris blushed slightly and replied, "_Gracias (Thanks) for the heads up Doc."_

Before you go back to your room, please join me in my office Chris the Professor's voice suddenly came into her head. Dr. McCoy, if you wouldn't mind showing the girl back to my office. I have requested that Scott and Jean join us as well.

Certainly Professor projected both Dr. McCoy and Chris as an answer to his request.

Dr. McCoy and Chris walked silently through the lower levels of the institute. Normally Hank would have been trying to make small talk and get to know the new student, however he respected that Chris needed to think about the day before. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even realize that they had reached the Professor's office. 

She raised her hand to knock but Professor Xavier's voice suddenly came into her mind Come in Dr. McCoy and Ms. Cruz.

Chris let out a small gasp of surprise but then remembered that the Professor was a telepath. She laughed silently at her silliness while opening the door to see Jean and Scott already sitting on a couch. Scott looked serious but Jean offered a friendly smile. Chris could tell that Jean genuinely wanted to be her friend and Chris had many friends like her at her old school. Chris could almost see the worry and guilt emanating from Scott so she offered him a reassuring smile. Chris knew it wasn't his fault that she had lost control.

"How are you feeling?" Professor Xavier asked, more for Scott's benefit than anything else.

"I feel tired and achy, but other than that I'm fine, _gracias_ (thank you)," Chris responded slowly.

"Dr. McCoy, what is your assessment?" the Professor inquired.

"Well, it seems that there is no lasting damage, however until we find the source of this problem, it may not be safe for Ms. Cruz to use her powers," Hank began.

"NO!" Chris interrupted her voice full of passion. "It's just, well, I'm always using my powers. You see, I absorb the sun's energy in addition to all other types of energy. In fact, when I first manifested my powers, I was asleep. The sun was hitting my body and when _mi _tía_ (my aunt) came in to wake me up, she found me floating two feet above the bed. I can concentrate the sunlight to fly but I can't use it as a weapon. So in a way, the __energía is always flowing through me; however I do not concentrate it unless I need to use it. If I don't learn to completely control my powers, I fear what will happen if I lose control. I think it has to do with my emotions. When I'm afraid, the fear causes me to continually absorb like I did last night. When I'm angry, all energy around me becomes forced at the object of my anger. I need to learn control." Chris's eyes were filled with worry and concern. Her pale grey eyes pierced into the Professor. He could hear the pleading in her voice and feel her intense emotion about the subject. He sighed._

"Very well Chris," the Professor conceited, nodding curtly. "You may continue your training tomorrow."

"Thank you Professor," Chris smiled widely. "I am really excited to do this."

"Just wait until you go through one of Logan's training sessions," Jean joked.

"Yeah. The man knows no pain," agreed Scott. He looked confident but Chris knew his inner worries and fears were not gone. She felt the need to reassure him some more.

"Scott," Chris began, "I don't blame you. In fact, it was my fault because I allowed the fear of losing control overwhelm me. I began to doubt myself and my abilities. I lost control and you couldn't have done anything to stop it. Please stop blaming yourself." Chris flashed Scott a friendly grin before continuing, "Now, Professor, may I please go to my room? I haven't unpacked and I'd like to prepare for school tomorrow."

"Yes, you are all dismissed," the Professor answered. "I'll see you all later."

The Professor sighed as the students and Dr. McCoy exited. He had hoped that Chris would have more control over her concentration. Her powers could prove most dangerous if they were left untamed.

Okay, you know the drill. Read it. Review it. Love it? Hate it? Let me know! Don't leave me to die of curiosity. Luckily I'm not a cat.


	6. Just a Walk in the Forest

Author's Note: Okay, as promised, ROMY chapter. I promised, so now I've delivered. I hope it's not TOO fluffy but hey, if it is too bad 'cause I'm the author. Anyway, next chapter will be not ROMY but the one after that is. So for all the die hard ROMY fans, no worries.

Shout outs:

Anda: Here's the ROMYness… hope it was fast enough for you. And you're right about Chris… she is dangerous. However, she mostly has control, it's just really strong emotions that push her too far. It will be approached more in the sequal.

Henrika4eva/romy4eva: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Logan doesn't seem like the type that would stop rule breaking if it's not hurting anybody. At least to me. But he still doesn't trust the Cajun man. I hope you like this update.

Yumiko: I'm glad you appreciate my updating skills. I hope you like this installment. Thanks for the reviews.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 6 – Just a Walk in the Forest

Rogue's POV – Later that same morning in Kitty and Rogue's room

*BAMF*

"Hello Keetty, Hello Rogue," suddenly Kurt's voice and the smell of sulfur and brimstone entered the room.

"Argh, Kurt," cried Kitty, "Don't you, like, ever knock?"

"Vhy?" asked Kurt innocently.

"What if we had been changing or something?" Kitty asked angrily. "And you let that like icky smell in."

"Touché, touché," Kurt responded. "Just came in to ask you and _meine Schwester_ (my sister) if you gurls vere planning to eat breakfast. It's 10:30 and if you don't get down soon, there vill be no food left. Ray and Roberto are having some sort of eating contest." With that said, he teleported out once more. All that lingered was the sulfur and brimstone smell.

"Rogue, would you, like, please open the balcony doors? I can't stand that awful smell," Kitty pleaded with her roommate.

Rogue stood and went to the balcony. She opened the doors and smiled thinking about the night before. Kitty's voice shook her out of her trance.

"I'm heading down now, do you want a lift?" Kitty asked, offering her hand to phase both girls through the floor.

"Nah," Rogue replied simply. "Ah think Ah'll go for a walk, Ah'm not hungry."

"Okay," Kitty said, looking her roommate over with a concerned look before phasing down.

Rogue quickly changed into her new peasant top and necklace, skin tight black jeans (A/N: the pants she wears in season 3), and combat boots, along with her signature gloves. She quickly applied her gothic makeup before heading out of the room. She walked briskly through the institute and out the door. She wandered through the forest aimlessly toward the lake. She was completely wrapped up in her thoughts. So much so that she didn't notice the person following her. When she reached the lake, she stopped and sat down. She gazed out into the water and sighed wistfully. That's when she noticed another shadow in the water.

"Hey Cajun," she whispered.

The figure came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and said, "_Bonjour chere_ (Hello dear)."

"What're ya doin' Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked quietly. "Why don't ya just leave meh alone?"

"_Puisque Remy vous veut chere_ (Because Remy wants you dear)," Remy answered softly while turning her around to face him.

"Ya shouldn't want thangs ya can't have or say thangs ya don't mean," Rogue retorted looking down to hide her sad eyes. "And don't thank that Ah didn't heah ya followin' meh last night. Ya must be loosin' ya touch."

"_Remy signifie ce qu'il dit_ (Remy means what he says.)," Remy replied lifting her head to face his with his gloved hands. Her eyes struck him once again. She seemed so genuine and honest. "_Remy ne mentirait jamais à vous chere._ (Remy would never lie to you dear.)" Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it was true. He didn't want to hurt this girl. "An' Remy b' a t'ief. He never looses his touch." He smirked slightly.

"Ah wish Ah could believe ya're intentions are noble," Rogue started honestly. "But ya're the enemy. Ya can't be trusted. What if ya're just usin' meh? 'Sides, why would ya wan' a girl ya can' touch?" A single tear began to roll down her cheek. She tried to be strong but this stupid Cajun was breaking down her defenses.

Gambit didn't say anything as he wiped away her tear with a gloved hand. She flinched at first because of his touch but she didn't pull away. He continued to hold her face in his hands. He smiled warmly at her and said, "Remy won' hurt y', he promises."

"Do ya always refer to yaself in the third person?" Rogue asked hastily changing the subject and smiling wickedly.

"_Oui_ (yes), most o' de time. Why?" Remy inquired, surprised at the sudden change of subject.

"Don't people find it annoyin'? Ah know Ah do," Rogue answered smirking to rival his own trademark expression.

"Y' cut Remy deep _petite_," answered the Cajun, feigning a hurt look.

"Well, somebody betta keep ya in check," Rogue commented with a sassy grin. Suddenly her look changed as she noticed her watch. "It's almost lunchtime. Best be headin' back Swamp Rat." She pulled away from him.

"Wait _chere_," Remy said grabbing her arm. "Y' never told Remy if y' liked y're gifts."

"The necklace was gorgeous and Ah love the shirt," Rogue started to gush. 'Oops. Can't let this Cajun get too full of himself.' She continued, "But mah favorite flowers are white lilies of the valley. Somehow, roses just don' compare." She smiled as she turned away once more.

"Until we meet again, _chere_," Gambit whispered as he watched her walk off. '_Merde (Shit). That _femme_ (woman) will be the end of me.' He sighed and left as quietly as he had come._

Another Author's Note: Okay, so more ROMY! You know you love it. Anyway, Rogue may seem a little OOC but it's just because I figure that sometimes she has to let her defenses down when she's alone. And she doesn't full out cry or anything, just one tear.

Read. Review. Simple, no?


	7. Lounging Around the Pool

Author's Note: Okay, so no Romy this chapter, but tons next chapter. Also, Sam gets a new love interest!! I'm sorry, but the sweet Southern boy needs to get some love too. There is some filler stuff, introducing the New Recruits to Chris but it's mostly just a fun chapter. Some cute humor too. Hope ya like it.

Shout outs:

Rogue77: Aw, my ego has been boosted. Gracias. Also, I don't have any Remy POV, sorry. I try to keep to the same character POVs b/c it's easier for me.

Henrika4eva/romy4eva: More Romy on the way. Not this chappy but soon! Promise.

Yumiko: Thank you. No worries, she still has her spunk. It'll be starting up again at some point.

Ev1ta: Thanks a lot. You're too sweet. Hope you like the new installment.

Ishalfahand: You're strange but I like it. Next chappy will be ROMY but this one, not so much. (More like none…)

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 7 – Lounging Around the Pool

Chris's POV – Around noon in Chris's room, she's just finished unpacking.

'Hmm...' Chris began to look around, 'maybe I can do something with this place after all. It might not be much to look at but –' 

Chris Jean's call interrupted her thoughts. If you want something to eat I can send Kurt to show you the way to the kitchen. Also, there is a bathroom in the hall if you need it.

Chris smiled to herself, maybe a shower wouldn't be so bad. No thanks for the food Chris answered Jean politely. Dr. McCoy gave me some food before I left the med bay.

Okay, just ask anybody if you want to find anything in the house though. Everybody will be really helpful, well maybe not Bobby… Jean joked.

Thanks Jean Chris said projecting her gratitude. I think I'm gonna take a shower.

Well, you could Jean wanted to include the new girl Or you could come swimming with us. It's a nice day and a bunch of us were thinking about swimming after we eat. Well, not right after. You have a suit don't you?

Swimming sounds great responded Chris enthusiastically. Yeah, I have a suit. I'll meet you guys out there in twenty minutes.

Okay Jean answered.

'_Mierda _(Shit),' thought Chris to herself, 'Now I have to find my suit. Argh, I should have unpacked in a more organized way. Where the heck did I put that thing?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chris's POV – about 20 minutes later, by the pool

"Hey Chris," yelled Scott from the pool, "Come on in, the water's fine."

Chris hesitantly walked outside barefoot. She had on a royal blue spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of light blue denim overalls. She wore her usual silver thumb ring and silver necklace with another intricately designed silver ring on it. She also wore her usual 6 earrings but she didn't have her black rubber bracelets on. Her hair was once again pulled back and twisted up with the grabby clip. Her lovely brown curls were spilling over the top once more, the light brown highlights glinting in the sun. The tank top definitely outlined her curves and slim figure nicely. Five boys and two girls that Chris didn't recognize all looked her over cautiously. 'Those must be the other mutants,' thought Chris to herself. None of them had seen her since her arrival. Each of them introduced themselves with friendly smiles, though the youngest boy looked a little nervous.

"Hey baby, I'm Iceman or Bobby Drake, the coolest member of the team, literally," stated a brown haired boy jokingly. Bobby proceeded to make a mini iceberg in the pool. He had brown eyes and looked about 14 years old. A pretty girl with dark tan skin and dark brown hair of the same age sent him dirty looks. She was very pretty but had a slightly snooty attitude that did not go unnoticed by Chris. The boy hastily continued, "And this lovely lady is Amara Aquilla or Magma, isn't she hot?" Amara flamed up a hand to show her powers.

"Hi Bobby, hello Amara," Chris responded with a friendly smile, "I'm Christina Cruz or Chris." Chris smiled. "Say, Bobby is that a faint Bawston accent I hear? Because I'm from there too." Her grin froze as he nodded with a smile. 'This is either really good or really bad,' thought Chris worriedly. 'I mean, he probably doesn't know or recognize me but what if he does? I think if he did, he would have run off immediately. Oh well. I'm sure it'll be okay, nobody suspects anything of my past because they have no reason to.' She tried to reassure herself.

"I'm Ray Crisp," said a nice looking boy who looked about Chris's age with really odd hair. His hair was shaved blonde except in the front where it was dyed orange and spiked in a fan-like shape. "My codename is Berzerker." He seemed proud and she knew he was the type that went looking for a fight or trouble. 'Curious that he ended up an X-Man,' thought Chris. 'He seems to be a hot head.' Ray sent off a little electricity to show his powers. Chris caught his electrical burst and formed it into a ball before throwing it into the air where it exploded in a little burst. All of the newbies watched in awe.

"It's really nice to meet you Ray." Chris pulled them out of their shock. "Interesting hair…" She added, smirking slightly, before approaching the nervous boy smiling brightly. "I'm Chris and you are?"

"Jamie Madrox," said a little voice. "Or Multiple." With that he looked away. 'Multiple, guess he clones himself,' Chris thought to herself. He looked younger than the rest, maybe 12 years old. He was cute with brown hair and eyes. Not wanting to push him, she smiled and turned to the other girl.

"I'm Tabitha or Tabby," the blonde haired girl who seemed the same age as Ray announced. She smiled mischievously, "But they call me Boom Boom." She threw a few cherry bombs in the water, creating mini splashes to prove her point.

"Boom Boom, huh?" Chris repeated with a slow smile. "Kinky. Guess you're a pyrokinetic." Tabby laughed before turning back to her flirtations with Ray. Chris turned her attention to the next boy.

The dark skinned boy with black hair who looked slightly younger than Chris smiled politely but remained uninterested. "I'm Roberto Da Costa or Sunspot," was all he offered. He seemed to be as hot headed as Ray. 'Bet those two have gotten in a bunch of fights,' Chris thought to herself. He proceeded to power up, "I convert solar energy into strength," he explained in a bored tone.

"You're name is Spanish sounding, where are you from?" Chris inquired curiously.

"I'm from Brazil, so I speak Portuguese not Spanish," answered Roberto defensively. She could feel his hostility and decided to show him up.

"_Eu falo o português demasiado.__ Não importa. Você não é interessado obviamente. (I speak Portuguese too. No matter. You obviously aren't interested.)," was all Chris said before turning to the last boy. Roberto looked at her shocked but decided not to push it._

"Ah'm Sam Guthrie," the boy with blonde hair and brown eyes drawled. He looked about Chris's age and had a cute smile. "Meh codename is CannonBall. It's reallah nice ta have ya heah. 'Specially afta Jubilee an' Rahne left. Mo' pretty ladies. Oh, an' mah powa is ta propel mahself reallah fast an' Ah'm almost invulnerable. Can't reallah demonstrate without destroyin' somethang."

"Nice to meet you Sam," smiled Chris blushing ever so slightly. 'Damn, he's cute. And with a cute accent to boot. Oh well, I bet he's got a _novia_ (girlfriend). Nobody should be allowed to be that cute.' Chris continued to blush at her own thoughts.

"So, ya comin' in the pool o' what?" asked Sam with a friendly smile.

"Well…" Chris started. She paused as if thinking for a moment, "Sure." She smiled broadly but then sat down to undress. She saw Jean and Kitty were in the pool too. There was no sign of Rogue or Kurt. She saw Ororo and Logan sitting with the Professor in the shade. The three appeared to be deep in conversation while keeping an eye on the children. Chris turned her attention back to her clothing. She slowly took off her overall straps. She dropped her pants to reveal a bikini bottom with string ties on both sides. The color was remarkable and shimmered in the sunlight, it was almost the color of sunlight itself. She folded the overalls and placed them by a chair. A small tattoo on her ankle was visible, however nobody noticed. It appeared to be a family crest of sorts with the initials TG linked inside. Then she took off the tank top to reveal a swim suit tube top that matched her bottoms and her belly button ring. She folded her tank top and placed it on top of her overalls. She smiled as she let her curly brown hair down for the first time. It was long and curly. It made it down to the middle of her back. Her light tan skin seemed to almost glow in the sunlight.

"So where are Rogue and Kurt?" asked Chris curiously as she made her way to the pool. Chris slid into the waist high water and gave a slight shiver.

"Kurt is trying to convince Rogue to come out. He keeps telling her to be more outgoing but –" Kitty started to explain but she was cut off by a sudden *BAMF* and a cry as both Kurt and Rogue fell into the pool from 3 feet above. Rogue was completely clothed while Kurt had on only swim trunks. There was a huge splash drenching Chris and everybody else in or near the pool before Rogue came sputtering to the surface.

"Y-ya … jerk!" she cried. "Whacha think ya were doin'?" Her eyes were filled with fire.

"Vell, you need to be more social _meine Schwester_ (my sister)," responded Kurt innocently as Rogue made her way out of the pool.

"Whatevah," Rogue replied bitterly before walking to the door. She sent Kurt her Death Glare before reentering the house.

Everybody began to laugh, even Logan let out a chuckle. Chris looked around surprised but then began to laugh herself. Poor Kurt just looked so dejected.

"That was some cannonball Kurt," said Scott between laughs.

"Nah," replied Sam, "Ah'll show ya a cannonball."

"No fair," cried Kurt. "It's your name!"

Everybody let out another laugh. Just then Chris had an idea. As everybody laughed, she began to concentrate on the sun's energy. She levitated herself a good 5 feet off the ground and moved over the pool. She let her concentration go and moved into a cannonball shape. SPLASH was all that was heard as even the three professors were drenched. Chris came up smoothly to find everybody staring at her.

"What?" she asked innocently with wide eyes. That's when everybody noticed that where her eyes had once been pale grey, they were now the golden color of her swimsuit – same as the sun – and she once again had a glow about her, only this time it was the color of sunlight. "You guys didn't think Kurt was the only one that could make a decent splash did you?"

Everybody just stared for a moment at her eyes. Chris suddenly became slightly self-conscience. She decided to explain. "See when I concentrate the energy flowing in me, my eyes take on that color and I sort of glow for a few moments." As she was talking, her eyes began to change back to their pale grey color and her glow was fading.

"Guess that's what you meant by using the suns energy to fly," commented Jean with a smile.

"That was SO cool!" yelled Kurt enthusiastically. Everybody broke down in laugher again.

Slowly people began to swim around and have private conversations again. Chris smiled to herself and began to swim laps. She loved to swim; in fact her mom had told her she must have been a fish in a past life. Suddenly, Chris felt like there were eyes on her. She stopped her laps and stood up. Jean and Scott moved out of the pool to talk quietly together. Amara and Bobby were laughing as they froze and melted stuff together. Ray, Tabitha, Roberto, Kurt, Jamie, and even Kitty were playing Marco Polo. Then her eyes met Sam's. She felt a small blush creep into her cheeks and had to force it away. She smiled at him and hoisted herself onto the side of the pool next to him. 'He's SO cute,' thought Chris, 'I wonder if he'll be in any of my classes.'

After a moment of silence Sam took the initiative and said, "So, tell meh about yoself."

'Ohmigod, I could listen to that Southern drawl for hours!' Chris thought. Instead she said, "Well, I grew up in Bawston, Massachusetts. I have a slight accent, nothing like yours though. I'm bilingual in _Español (Spanish) and I speak some Portuguese and French too. _Mi familia_ is big on languages. My two _hermanas_, oh, that's sisters, and I all speak numerous languages. We've lived with our __tíos, I mean my aunt and uncle, for a few years because _mis padres_ couldn't take care of us anymore. I'm really good at logic, like math and stuff, but I stink at public speaking. I am a good student but I don't really like school. I love sports but I don't play on school teams, except for volleyball. I also dance, like jazz and ballet and that sorta stuff. I love the movements, it's so natural. I'm not the most popular girl but I don't have trouble making __amigos, er, friends. I love to read and generally tend to blabber and slip in some words in__ Español when I'm _nerviosa_, I mean nervous. Kinda like I am right now." Chris blushed slightly again and then, regaining her composure, asked, "So what about you?"_

"Well, meh sister and Ah are mutants. We grew up in Kentucky with our 'rents, hence the Southern drawl. Ah'm an okay student as well. Ah'm athletic and enjoy playin' video games. Ah think Ah'm pretty easy goin' guy who makes friends easily too. Ah tend to be shy and my accent thickens when Ah'm nervous but Ah'm tryin' to get ova that," Sam said offering a lopsided grin. 'She's so cute when she blushes,' thought Sam to himself. 'I'm glad she came to the school.'

"Now that we've got that outta the way, wanna play foosball?" asked Chris innocently with a smile. "I've been dying to play since I got here. I love foosball!"

Sure," responded Sam. He handed her a towel and grabbed one for himself. They smiled at each other. Sam threw on a t-shirt while Chris put her tank top and overalls back on. As they headed inside together Chris was grinning widely. 

You and Sam, cute the red haired telepath told Chris.

Shut up! We just met Chris defended. We don't know each other.

Jean smiled as she commented, Whatever you say… but I want details! Oops, gotta go. Scott is feeling neglected.

"Jean sure is nosy," Chris commented to Sam as she suppressed a giggle at thoughts of Scott's supposed neglect.

"Ah know," he replied, "but she means well. Were ya guys "talkin'" jus' now?"

"Yeah," she said with a small smile. "She was making fun of us because we're attracted to each other." Sam looked a little taken aback by this comment. '_Mierda_,' thought Chris. 'I was imagining the attraction, he doesn't feel the same way.'

"How did ya – Ah mean how could ya –" Sam tried to find his voice.

"Oh, _estoy apesadumbrado_ (I'm sorry)," replied Chris as she looked down ashamed. "I guess I just assumed that the attraction I feel is mutual."

Sam took a good long look into those eyes. True, he had felt something for this girl. She was beautiful and friendly. He had been watching her swim and found her movements graceful. His face softened and he gave her a big smile. He grabbed her hand and continued toward the common room. When they arrived he suddenly turned around and looked strait into her eyes as if trying to read her. He smiled again and summed up all his courage. "Chris would ya like ta go out with meh Friday night?"

"Well, you know what they say, 'Ask and you shall receive.'" Chris said smiling in return. They moved towards the foosball table.

"Now that we got that outta the way, are ya ready ta be schooled in the art o' foosball?" Sam asked with a cocky grin.

"You just try and beat me," answered Chris with her eyes flashing and a big smile on her face.

Read. Review. Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top. And Remy. I'll give you Remy. But I need him back next chapter.


	8. First Date

Author's note: So, I decided to post this chapter a lot sooner than I originally planned because I thought people would like another Romy chappy. Hope you like it. And if you don't, I'm sorry. Actually I'm not 'cause I like it. A lot. Hehe.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 8 – First Date

Rogue's POV – After the cannonball incident, around 1:00

Rogue walked through the institute grumbling about her brother and how to exact her revenge. When she reached her room, she was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice the figure standing in the shadows. She just walked in grabbed a towel and made a beeline for the bathroom. Moments later, the shower could be heard. The shadowy figure moved around the room, careful not to disturb anything. His new favorite pastime was to watch his _chere and now that he was here, he was going to stay for the show. He heard the water stop and the door opened. Out stepped Rogue wearing only a short towel. She was still muttering about how much she hated her brother. Her beauty struck the shadowed figure. Without all of the make-up he could see her deep green eyes. He could see her milky skin in the light. He smiled to himself knowing that this show was just for him. The hairs on the back of Rogue's neck perked up. Suddenly she felt like she was being watched. She spun around and caught a glimpse of shiny red eyes._

"REMY!" she shrieked suddenly. "What the hell ya doin' heah?"

Remy leaped over the furniture and grabbed her mouth with his gloved hand. "Shh _chere_," Remy said quietly, "Do y' wan' de whole institute t' know Remy's here?" '_Mon Dieu (My God) LeBeau,' thought Remy to himself, 'You must really be losing your touch if the __fille knows your every movement.'_

Slowly she shook her and he removed his hand. Suddenly she was very aware that she was wearing only a towel and he was standing very close to her. She started to move away and desperately tried to cover herself. Gambit grabbed her wrists and pulled her close. She flinched but he was too strong for her to get away.

"Don' worry, Remy told y' he won' hurt y' none," Remy whispered in her ear. His words tickled her ears.

"Ah'm worried that Ah'll hurt ya," responded Rogue looking away from his piercing gaze.

"Remy be fully clothed _chere_," the Cajun answered with a smirk. And it was true because he had on a white wife beater that showed off his pecs nicely with dark blue jeans that showed off his nice butt and of coarse his trademark trench coat. He also had on black leather gloves and black combat boots. "An' he didn' know y' cared so much."

"Ah don't," Rogue replied indignantly. "Ah just don't want ya slimy thoughts in mah head all day."

Remy continued to check her out with a big grin. "_Chere, Remy ne vous a jamais vu regarder plus beau que vous regardez en ce moment. (Dear, Remy has never seen you look more beautiful than you look right now.)," Remy commented smirking slightly at her._

"What're ya talkin' about Swamp Rat?" Rogue inquired looking slightly confused.

"Remy t'inks all dat junk y' be putting on y'r face hides y' _belle eyes," replied Remy simply._

Rogue blushed slightly at this remark.

"Get dressed," the good-looking Cajun ordered. "Remy's gonna show y' a good time."

"Alright Swamp Rat," said Rogue with a sassy smile. "Why the hell not?" She looked at him pointedly, "Now do ya mind?"

"_Non_ (No), Remy don' mind a bit," he smirked back in response.

"Just turn 'round, okay?!" an exasperated Rogue pleaded.

"Fine, y' twisted Remy's arm," answered Gambit as he turned around.

Just as Rogue was about to drop the towel, she noticed the red on black eyes watching her intensely in the mirror on the dresser. Rogue glared at Gambit before grabbing a nearby scarf and wrapping it tightly over the Cajun's eyes. He chuckled as she cried, "This is not as show!"

Moving at a speed that would have made Quicksilver look slow, Rogue threw on a pair of light blue jeans with a rip in the knee and pulled her favorite combat boots on. She grabbed a forest green tank top (A/N: like the black one in Seasons 1 and 2 but with no over shirt) and slipped a short black leather trench coat over it. The coat had a belt at the waist and just reached her butt. She threw on her usual gothic makeup but lighter. She opted for some burgundy lip gloss instead of the purple and leaving out the pale powder, however she left the eye shadow the same. She grabbed her signature gloves off the dresser and turned her attention back to Remy. He was standing in the exact same position that she had left him in. She smiled and moved to grab the scarf off his head. He caught her off guard by pulling her toward him, placing the scarf in between their lips and kissing her sweetly. He let her go and she just stared at him in shock, completely speechless.

"Well, let's go," smirked Remy as he enjoyed the look of shock on Rogue's face. He swiftly led Rogue onto the balcony and down onto ground. They managed to sneak outside of the gates. Rogue immediately saw a really nice motorcycle. She smiled inwardly. She loved the freedom of riding on a bike. Rogue had ridden with Logan on his bike or baby as he affectionately called it, numerous times. He even let her drive occasionally. (A/N: I know that she rode with Logan in the episode "Stuff of Heroes" and she drove too.) And, once or twice she had borrowed his bike for midnight joyrides. She had yet to be caught, but she had a feeling he knew.

Rogue decided to fake that she didn't know anything about motorcycles. "We're ridin' that?" she inquired with fake caution. She managed a worried look and she frowned slightly.

"_Oui_," was all Remy said as an answer. He handed her a sleek black helmet and continued, "Y' wear dis. Remy would never forgive himself if somet'ing happened t' y'r pretty head."

"Can Ah drive?" asked Rogue with her coyest smile. "Puh-lease." She looked up at him innocently and pouted slightly.

"_Très__ bien (fine)," the Cajun answered looking at her doubtfully as she climbed on the bike._

"Now, which is the gas and which is the break?" Rogue was looking at the bike like it was an alien technology. "Neva mind, Ah'll get the hang of it. Get on Swamp Rat." With a big grin, Rogue started the engine and kicked up the kickstand. "Ya comin'?"

"_Oui_," Remy looked a little frightened. He hoped on the bike behind Rogue. Without another glance, Rogue let loose. She drove off quickly with major skill and Remy had to hold on tightly to keep from flying off the back. She took the turns with ease and sped up more enjoying the freedom and the Cajun's shock. After a little while, Remy told Rogue to stop the hog. She complied and swiftly hopped off the bike. She removed the helmet to reveal a big smile. Remy, clearly shaken up by the whole ordeal, gently eased himself off the bike. He looked at Rogue in surprise while she smirked at him.

"Phew," Rogue gasped. "Ah needed that."

"Where did dat come from _chere?" asked a shook up Cajun._

"Ya neva know with us Southern Belles Swamp Rat," replied Rogue who was still smirking. "Ah know mah way around a bike."

"_Évidemment_ (Obviously)," Remy said slyly. "Remy is very impressed _chere."_

"So, where we goin' Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked curiously. She looked around but it was mostly bars. 'Surely he isn't taking me out drinking,' she thought surprised. 'He must know I'm underage. Isn't he underage?'

"Remy t'ought y'd like t' play pool for a while," Gambit answered with a grin. He led her towards a slightly run down pool hall. Once inside he went over to the bartender who clearly knew him well.

"Remy my good man, come to hustle a few boys out of their money tonight?" asked the bartender named Roy. He was a bald, plump man in his early 50s with a friendly smile.

"_Non mon ami_ (No my friend), Remy be here on a date," Remy gestured toward Rogue. He winked at her as he added, "A date wit' de mos' _belle fille."_

"She's nice lookin', what the heck's she doin' with you?" joked Roy with a friendly grin. "You're nothin' but trouble."

Before Remy could respond, Rogue cut in, "Don't Ah know it." Both Roy and Gambit looked at her with surprise. She continued, "What kinda date is this, my date's talkin' 'bout meh like Ah'm not even heah." She pouted slightly.

"Look's like she's got you're number," Roy said turning his attention back to Remy.

"What about some drinks boys?" Rogue interrupted once more with a touch of sass in her voice.

"Two beers please," responded Gambit quickly.

"Make it a beer an' a Coke," corrected Rogue.

Roy went got them their drinks and then proceeded to help some other customers. Remy turned to Rogue with a confused look on his face.

"Ah didn't think ya would wanna break too many laws in one night," Rogue stated obviously. "Ah'm underage. Ah'm only 16 ya know, well almost 17 but still. And by the way how old are ya?"

Remy looked surprised at this new development. "_Vraiment? (Really?) Remy t'ought y' were older. He knew y' were still in high school but he t'ought y' were 18. Gambit be 21 years old." He paused for a moment and then winked adding, "At leas' dat's what _mon_ ID says. Remy actually be 19. Too bad, y' still jailbait."_

"Get ya mind outta the gutta Swamp Rat," Rogue retorted quickly. "Not like we could do any o' that stuff anyway." She glanced up at him. "An' Ah highly doubt that ya have any qualms about breakin' the law."

"Well, Remy can dream, can' he?" smirked Gambit as he watched her blush slightly, which was more evident without the pale makeup.

"So, what's this 'bout playin' some pool?" Rogue said quickly changing the subject. "Ah love pool. We have a table at the institute."

"Well, Remy never play fo' not'ing," Remy said thoughtfully. "What should we wager _petite?"_

"Hmmm…" contemplated Rogue, "Ah don't wanna lose mah money. How 'bout the winnah gets ta ask a question and the losah must answah truthfully and ta the winnah's satisfaction."

"Remy would have settled fo' a kiss chere," the handsome Cajun responded with a smirk. 'Remy loves making _mon__ cher angry,' he thought to himself. 'She is so cute when she's angry. And she has a sharp tongue. That girl's got sass. But Remy's definitely still in control. Just another _fille_. Another challenge to overcome.' Again the small voice argued with his thoughts._

"Yeah, an' then who'd be stuck carryin' ya're comatose body home?" Rogue shot back. 'Damn him and his sexy smirk,' she thought. 'That arrogant Cajun needs somebody to put him in his place. I'm just the gal to do it. That Swamp Rat won't know what hit him.' Rogue gave Remy a smug look as she waited for his response.

"Fine, Remy agrees t' y' terms," agreed Remy. "Let's take dat table back dere _chere_."

"Why the one all the way in the corna Swamp Rat?" inquired Rogue eyeing him suspiciously.

"Dat's de seduction table _petite," answered Remy with a smug look of his own._

"Whatevah," Rogue muttered throwing her hands up as a mock surrender. As Remy led her to the secluded table she couldn't help but think, 'What the hell have I gotten myself into?'

PLEASE REVIEW!! I'M BEGGING!! I KNOW IT'S SAD BUT… THAT'S JUST ME. SAD.


	9. All Fun and Games

Author's note: So I hope you liked the Romy chappy. I haven't gotten that many reviews :( Oh well, if you like it, tell me! Anyway, there is some Romy and heartbreak too. Fun fun!

Shout outs:

Beth: Yeah I totally feel for her. Especially since I LOVE to swim. Hope you liked the Remy in the last chappy. There's some in this one too.

Yumiko: I update as fast as I can! I'm glad you like it, hope you enjoy the new chappy. Thanks for reviewing.

Rogue4eva/romy4eva: Glad you liked it! Some Romy coming up in this chappy too. Hehe.

Barbara Ruiz: Logan actually doesn't factor into it that much… yet. *wink, wink* Glad you're enjoying it! Hope you like what happens soon.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 9 – All Fun and Games (until somebody gets hurt)

Rogue's POV – A few hours later, still playing pool with Gambit.

'Okay, line up this shot and you win girl, don't scrub,' thought Rogue as she prepared to sink the 8-ball. She smiled as it went into the pocket. "Ah win," she cried triumphantly.

Remy sighed. So far he'd asked her what her real name was (She'd claimed it was Marie, but he could tell she was lying. It was the type of lie that had been told enough times that she almost believed it was true. And, it was obviously a big deal so he didn't push it.) and if she liked him (She admitted that she did.). She'd asked him why he worked for Magneto (He admitted it was a combination of payment and blackmail.) and if he ever had a serious relationship (He said yes and it had resulted in his banishment from his home. He refused to speak any more on the subject.). Remy wanted to win, and he would have too, except she had leaned over just as he lined up his shot, distracting him from his target. He silently scolded himself. A thief should have no weaknesses and clearly this girl was a big weakness for him.

"Why do ya like meh Remy?" Rogue asked with a smirk that masked her true curiosity.

"Y' called Remy by his name," Gambit said with a fake look of shock on his face. "Remy likes it when y' call him by his name."

"Ya didn't answa mah question Swamp Rat," smirked Rogue.

'_Merde_,' thought Remy. 'Remy could lie but he don't want to. Hope she doesn't hate me.' "At firs' I liked y' 'cause y' were a challenge an' _tres belle, but now I t'ink I migh' love y' because deep down I feel somet'ing fo' y'. I never felt anyt'ing like dis fo' a _femme_ before," he finally answered honestly._

Rogue looked surprise. He had spoken in the first person – maybe that meant he was being honest. She had expected him to make some flirtatious remark or give her some line about her being perfect. She didn't say anything for a long time.

"Please don' be mad _chere," Gambit pleaded slightly. "__Je t'aime. (I love you.)"_

"Ah-Ah love ya too Remy," Rogue finally choked out. Tears welled in her eyes and like a flash he was next to her, hugging her and comforting her. "But Ah can't see ya anymo'," she whispered. "Please take meh home."

Remy didn't say a word as he led Rogue out to his bike. He felt her hold onto him tight as he drove her back to the mansion. He let her off and watched her walk inside slightly dazed. 'Why don't she want to see Remy no more?' he wondered. 'She's probably just pushing Remy away. She's scared. Remy won't let go without a fight.' He drove off, contemplating his next move.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chris's POV – While Rogue and Gambit are playing pool, Chris is still playing foosball with Sam (now against Amara and Bobby) in the common room. The other kids are milling around chit chatting and watching TV

"Ha," cried Chris with satisfaction as she slammed the ball in the goal. "_Ganamos otra vez!_ It means, we win again!"

"Crap," murmured Bobby. "I'm no good at this game."

Amara giggled a little. "Maybe we should call it quits."

Sam looked at his partner (Chris) and said, "Ah'm out too. Ya always win Chris."

"Spoilsports," commented Chris with a grin. "So, what do you guys wanna do now?"

"Actually, they have Danger Room practice in 20 minutes," came a gruff voice. The three kids quickly excused themselves to go change. Sam caught Chris's eye and gave her a small grin and a friendly wave good-bye. The rest of the kids in the common room followed suit.

Chris looked up at Logan and grinned. "I thought Bobby graduated to full-fledged X-Man status," she smirked at him. "By the way, _gracias _(thanks) for scaring _mis nuevos amigos_ (my new friends) away."

"Sorry 'bout that, Beanie" Logan nodded in the direction the kids went. "Popsicle did graduate, both of the teams have practice in 20 minutes. Ororo is leadin' the newbies and I'm leadin' the X-Men."

Chris pouted slightly. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"You could come watch," answered Logan. "Or you could just go for it, jump back in the game." There was a gleam in his eye. Obviously he wanted her to volunteer for extra training.

"Alright Mr. Logan," she gave in. "I'll come to practice." With that she gave a short wave and started to exit the room.

"Beanie," called Logan after her.

"Yeah?" she turned around slightly to face him.

"You and Sam?" he stated it like more of a fact than a question. "He better be a gentleman or I'll" He shot out three claws to prove his point. "rip him to shreds."

"Don't worry about it Mr. Logan," responded Chris quickly. "He's from the South. You know what they say about Southern Hospitality." With that final comment, she sauntered out of the room. Her thoughts rested briefly on Sam but then quickly reminded her that she had just volunteered for an hour and a half of dodging guns. 'What the hell was I thinking?' she scolded herself. 'I volunteered for Danger Room time. I must be going crazy.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kitty's POV – 10 minutes later in her and Rogue's Room

As the young brunette finished changing, she turned around to find a very upset Rogue.

"Rogue, are you okay?" concern and worry filled Kitty's voice. "What happened, where have you been?"

"Kitty," sniff, "Ah don't," sniff, "wanna talk 'bout it." The girl's tear streaked face spoke volumes. Rogue walked over to her bed and sat down.

Kitty walked over and hugged her. "Rogue," the younger girl's voice was now soft, "You should talk about it. It will make you feel better."

"Ah-Ah –" she started to sob. Finally she calmed down and tried again. "Ah love him. But… Ah can't force him ta be with meh. What kinda life is that? Bein' with a girl that can't touch." Tears flowed out of her emerald eyes once more.

Kitty sat and hugged her for a long time. When Rogue's cries quieted to small whimpers she decided to give her some perspective. "Rogue isn't it, like, his decision? I mean if he likes you as much as he says he does, then he so won't take no for an answer."

"Ah guess ya're right," Rogue sighed after a moment. "Shit, we're late fo' Logan's Danga Room session. Guess we'll have ta get up at 4 A.M. fo' the extra sessions. Damn."

"Like, totally," was all Kitty could muster up. She had completely forgotten about the training session. "Guess I'll see you down there in a few minutes." She waved good-bye as she phased down to the Danger Room. Once she entered the room she came face to face with a very angry Logan.

"Nice of ya to join us half-pint," he spat out. Clearly he was not in a good mood. "At least ya managed to get here before Stripes. Where is that girl?"

"She'll be down in a minute," Kitty answered. She looked around at her teammates. Kurt, Bobby, and Chris looked slightly amused. 'Wonder why Chris is here?' she contemplated briefly. She saw Scott glaring at her slightly obviously peeved that she was late. Jean was trying to comfort Scott telepathically. 'Jean, always trying to calm our fearless leader,' Kitty giggled slightly inside. She focused her attention back on a very unhappy Mr. Logan. "Mr. Logan, I'm, like, totally sorry that I'm late." She shot puppy dog eyes at him. "Rogue was upset and I was, like, trying to be a good friend and comfort her."

"Fine," grunted Logan. "But ya still have to come to a morning session tomorrow."

Kitty pouted slightly. That's when Rogue ran in. Kitty immediately noticed that she had applied her Gothic make up once more and this time, thicker. However, her puffy eyes were still slightly visible. "Stripes," Logan grunted again. "Guess now that you've graced us with your presence we can get started."

"Sorry Logan," Rogue apologized with her own puppy dog eyes. "Ah was upset. Ah made Kitty late. It's all mah fault. Everythin' is mah fault." Her eyes were now brimming with tears. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Ah'll take double mornin' sessions instead of Kitty. It's not her fault at all."

"No Rogue," cried Kitty. "I, like, totally, stayed of my own free will. Don't bother, we'll both go."

"Relax half-pint, there's plenty of punishment to go around," Logan said dazed. "Now, let's begin the session, okay?"

"Whatever," Kitty huffed. She was fed up with it all. The program began and all was forgotten. The kids scattered and ran around dodging the lasers and things. The Danger Room's name is definitely earned.

Second Author's note: Okay, so Rogue may seem a little OOC, but I imagine nobody ever told her that they loved her before… at least not in a boyfriend/girlfriend sense. And I think she'd flip out slightly, so I had her break down slightly. And of course push Remy away because she's scared. So there's my rational.

READ AND REVIEW PLZ!!! *Down on knees, prayer position, and pleading* Okay, that was pathetic but… I'm okay wit that.


	10. Old Friends

Author's Note: I thought I'd throw this chapter in at the same time as the last one 'cause I'm starting to have a little more of Chris coming into the story. I'm not going to make the story revolve around her, but I have an interesting *twist* that I want to throw in. Hope you like it.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 10 – Old Friends

Chris's POV – In the Danger Room Gym that evening after dinner

Chris grinned widely as she entered the workout room (A/N: she's wearing same workout outfit she was wearing in the earlier chapter). 'Time for a real workout,' she thought smugly. She brought in a boom box and her workout CD. She started the music and began a series of stretches. It was a combination of Yoga and Tai-Chi. The next song was her gymnastics workout routine. She continued to move with the CD. Song after song, each a new workout. She did karate, jazz dance, ballet, Wing Chun Kung Fu and boxing. She used some of the Danger Room weapons in her workout, including a bo staff, throwing stars, and Sais blades. (A/N: Sais is the weapon that Elektra in the movie Daredevil uses.) After a couple of hours, she decided to go for a walk to clear her head and then go to bed. She collected her belongings and headed back to her room. She went out to the balcony and floated herself down to the ground with the energy from the setting sun. 'Wonder how I'm going to get back up,' she contemplated. She headed toward the lake in the forest, exploring the grounds as she walked. Suddenly she heard a twig snap. Her reflexes snapped and she whipped around and grabbed her concealed Sais blades from under her sweat pants. She spun her blades and found herself holding them to the neck of a tall, handsome man with disheveled auburn hair and red on black eyes.

"Remy LeBeau, son of the great Jean-Luc LeBeau leader of the infamous New Orleans Thieves Guild, you must be losing your touch," she stated sarcastically. She gave him the once over before continuing harshly. "Why the hell are you here? I hear you've become one of Magneto's Acolytes. What, Sinister not paying you enough?" Chris's death glare was one to rival Rogue's and there was anger flashing in her pale eyes. Chris's powers caused all of the static electricity near the pair to immediately charge towards Remy but since they were outside, it wasn't that much. (A/N: Besides, Gambit wouldn't feel it 'cause of his biokinetic skin… it is just static electricity after all) She didn't bother to keep up her poker face, with this gambler around, what was the point? Besides, he was the one who taught her in the first place.

"Remy came t' see his _chere_," Gambit responded nonchalantly even with a blade pressed to his neck. He was surprised that this young one knew of his dealings with Mr. Sinister but he masked his emotions with a brilliant poker face. "_Petite, Remy's not sure how y' know __Monsieur (Mr.) Sinister, but he'll tell y' de trut'. Sinister helped Gambit wit' his powers so Gambit had t' work off his debt. Remy hates dat madman, so Magneto paid Sinister to let Gambit work fo' him instead."_

Chris's face softened slightly and she took a step back. She spun her Sais on her palms before replacing them in their holders. "Tell me something I didn't know," Chris said rolling her eyes. "From one madman to another."

"Don' Remy know it," responded Gambit with a slightly pained look. Then he resumed examining the girl in front of him. "Now Remy has a question fo' y'. Who are y'?"

"Since when is Rogue you're _chere? Last I remember it was Bella," Chris laughed though her voice still carried an edge. She deliberately changed the subject, ignoring his question with the hope he would forget about interrogating her back. Gambit looked surprised and that was something you didn't see often. "I can hear you "sneak" into her room sometimes. You're pretty loud on the roof, well at least to a trained ear, and I know your work. After all, it's not like we never worked together before." She looked deep into his red on black eyes and laughed again, this time harshly. "Don't bother trying to charm me or read me, my mutant powers allow me to deflect psionic energy."_

"Y' still haven' answered Remy's question," Gambit prodded, his curiosity was immense. "Who are y'?

"You don't remember me? Well, that hurts." Chris feigned a hurt look though her pale eyes still had angry fire in them before continuing, "_Mi nombre es_ (My name is) Christina Isabella Cruz, or Chris." She paused, seeing his blank look and sighed, "But when we worked together, I was known simply as Rea (A/N: Pronounced like the Egyptian Sun God Re with an "ah" sound at the end or Rey-ah)." A pained expression passed over her face as she mentioned this name but she forced it off.

Gambit's eyes widened and he stared at her for a moment. "Ray-Ray," he whispered. Chris grimaced at her old nickname. "It can' be y'. Y' don' look like y', no leather." Remy smirked. "Dey don' know, do dey?" 

"No, of course they don't know. And, you're not gonna tell them either," she snapped suddenly as she whipped out her Sais again, ready to fight. "They wouldn't understand. They just know what my _tío and I told them." She spun her Sais and struck an offensive pose ready to strike. "And leather doesn't fit my new "good" image," she half-smiled at her joke. "But Remy LeBeau, you're not off the hook yet. I killed her because of Sinister, and you were working for him." Gambit looked slightly lost at this statement. "Don't you remember? That night, when I came to rescue my parents…" Chris trailed off with tears forming in her eyes. She struggled to hold them back and continue. "You could have saved them, or any of those other mutants. He was experimenting on them and you were his lackey. Well congratulations, I see you managed to save the one person you care about, you." Her voice was shaky but there was discernable anger and resentment._

"Y' were _mon ami_ once _petite_," replied Remy softly, "so why don' y' try t' understand. I didn' have a choice, I couldn' control my powers an' I was killing people." Remy winced slightly at the memories.

'Wow, he referred to himself in the first person, it must have been really bad,' thought Chris. "I know that you didn't have a choice Rems and that Sinister is an evil _hijo de una perra _(son of a bitch), but I have to blame somebody…"

Gambit smiled slightly. "Y' called Remy "Rems", does dat mean y' forgive him?"

Chris nodded. "I forgave you long ago, it's just the forgetting I'm having trouble with." She forced a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Y' should tell de institute people. Dey seem like dey would understand," Remy offered.

"Look, if you were me, would you tell them?" she asked frowning. Her face was filled anguish as she thought of her past. He shrugged. "Didn't think so." She sighed. "They wouldn't understand my past." Suddenly she looked really tired and old, older than a fifteen year old should look. Her eyes screamed with hurt and anger. "Obviously you're still hiding from your past too. I mean, why else would you be working for Magneto. So it's not like you're really one to preach to me about telling the truth." She threw him a 'don't bull shit me, I see right through you' look.

"Mebbe dey wouldn' understand," he agreed with a slight look of sadness on his face. Gambit looked at Chris closely and saw tears in her eyes. Tears that had been held back for years. He walked over and gave her a hug. "But y' should still tell dem, dat Professor seems mighty nice." She shook her head violently against his chest. "But den again, mebbe dey would." He stroked her hair slightly. "If y' ever wan' t' talk, Gambit'll listen. He promises. Dat's what old _amis_ are fo'."

Chris took a step back and wiped the tears away. "Thanks Remy," whispered Chris with a small smile as she packed her Sais away once more. "I may just take you up on that offer, even though you are the enemy." She decided to change the subject. "And I won't tell anybody that you love Rogue or that you're seeing her. Although, Mr. Logan, or should I say Wolverine, already knows." It was her turn to smirk at a surprised Gambit.

"De Wolverine knows, _merde_ (shit). Not dat it really matters 'nymore. Rogue don' wan' Remy. She says she don' wan' t' see Gambit again." Remy sighed with sad eyes of his own and a dejected look on his face.

"Oh, stop pitying yourself," Chris cried out of frustration. "Obviously you love her and she loves you. Think about it. She's petrified. She wants to be with you but she can't touch. She's scared that you'll leave her for somebody who can. She doesn't want to get hurt by you or to hurt you. Duh, you need to reassure her." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, how can Gambit reassure if he can' get near her?" the Cajun asked softly.

"Keep doing what you've been doing," Chris answered. "You've already got her heart, just show her that she has yours." She grinned at him. "Now if you don't mind, I've got to sneak back into my room before Mr. Logan's rounds."

They bowed at each other before saying good night in their respective languages.

"_Buenos noches._" (Good night.)

"_Bonne nuit._" (Good night.)

Chris made her way back to the mansion silently. She used her gymnastics skills to make it back up to her room. She changed into her pajamas and slid into the sheets. Her digital clock read 11:47. 'Hmm…,' thought Chris, 'Not as late as I had thought. Well, I hope I feel this invigorated in the morning before school. Ha. Like that could happen.' Her thoughts drifted to Sam briefly before she drifted into a restless sleep.

_~Chris's Nightmare~_

_She was standing inside a horrible lab. The room was dark and dank and reeked of torture and death. There were lab tables and test tubes and people suspended in big tanks filled with liquid. And other people were in cages, clearly suffering in pain. Many were screaming and crying. Some shouted pleas to her, for her to help them. Chris let out an involuntary shudder as she made her way inside. She tried to ignore them and their pain._

_"_Senior _(Mister) Sinister!" she shouted angrily, her calm face betraying her true hatred. "I've brought what you wanted, now free mis padres_."__

_An awful man covered with silver scales entered the room. His eyes were red and he had a red gem embedded in his forehead. He smiled evilly at the young girl. "Give me the crystal child."_

_"Show me my parents first, I need to make sure you held up your end of the bargain," Chris responded bravely. "I will not have you backing out. And know that I will destroy the crystal if you do not comply." She smirked confidently at him trying to push down her fears._

_"Fine," he snapped. He turned to two of the mutants standing behind him. "Bring them," he ordered sternly._

_Chris watched them walk out obediently before turning back to the evil man before her. She stared into him angrily and she could feel the heat of her hatred. Her eyes flared with fire but her face remained calm. Then she noticed a glimpse of behind him. A familiar red glow, red on black. Her brow furrowed in confusion, 'Where have I seen that before?'_

_Sinister took notice of her slight change in attitude. "Ah, I see you recognize your old friend. Gambit, come forward."_

_Sinister watched as Chris's confused eyes widened with shock at the mention of Gambit. Remy LeBeau came out of the shadows cautiously. "Evenin' _petite_," he said calmly, his eyes begging her forgiveness._

_Chris chose not to answer or even make a move like she recognized the Cajun man before her. Sinister laughed his evil laugh. "What, no kind words for your old friend?" Chris just looked coldly at both of the men. "No matter, Gambit belongs to me now."_

_Chris kept the calm look on her face as she listened to Sinister. She glanced briefly at Remy before he was ordered back. That's when her parents were dragged in. Her father was severely bruised and beaten. He was thrown on the floor and was unable to stand on his own. Chris rushed over to him and helped him up, leaning him against the wall. Her mother was carried in and laid on a med table. Her once vibrant skin was now pale and bruised. Her long, dark hair was messy and greasy. She appeared so pale and lifeless that she turned to her evil captor. "Is she…" somehow Chris couldn't bring herself to say the words._

_"No, she is not dead," Sinister responded. "My attempts to remove the X-Gene took a toll on her though. However, she proved one of my more resilient lab rats."_

_Chris felt her whole body tense with anger but she never lost her calm face. She made her way to her mother who opened her eyes. They were so lifeless and dull, though they had once been full of fire and determination. She gave her daughter a weak smile. "_Mi hija, te amo._ (My daughter, I love you.)" She carefully removed her wedding band and placed it into her daughters' hand and closed her hand around it. She continued to hold onto Chris's closed hand. _"Bella, nunca olvídese de lo que le he enseñado. Y nunca dé para arriba._ (Bella, never forget what I have taught you. And never give up.)" (A/N: Chris's parent's nickname for her is Bella because her middle name is Isabella.)___

"No me olvidaré. Prometo._ (I won't forget. I promise.)"Chris responded with tears filing her eyes._

"Adiós mi hija. _(Good-bye my daughter.)" Her mother's eyes looked tired and pleaded with her. Chris knew what she must do._

_Chris drew out one of her __Sais__ blades and raised it high above her mother's chest. Tears now flowed freely down her face. "Adiós mamá. Te amo. __(Good-bye mom. I love you.)"_

"Nooo!" Chris gasped sitting strait up in bed. She was covered in sweat and panting slightly as she wiped away her tears. She grabbed the ring on the chain around her neck and gripped it tightly in her hand. She choked her tears back and took some deep breaths. After she calmed herself, she glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. It read 2:52. 'Great,' Chris thought to herself. 'It's almost 3 am but I know I won't be able to get back to sleep. This blows.' She sighed and got out of bed. 'Maybe I'll have a little impromptu Danger Room session, I mean, nobody's using it. I'm sure I can be out before Logan has Kitty and Rogue in there. Yeah, that'll tire me out and get rid of my nerves.' Chris smiled to herself as she began to root through her closet for something to wear. 'This'll be fun.'

Did you see that coming? Some character development for Chris. Anyway, just thought I'd add an extra chappy for y'all. Please review. You know you want to. You know you do. Don't you? Yes, yes you do.


	11. Secrets Revealed

Author's Note: Okay, I've been getting some reviews saying Chris is too perfect. Definitely not the case! She doesn't have very good control over her powers or her emotions. She might be a really good physical fighter, but so are Rogue and Remy. She's not some amazing person, she has flaws too. Plus she has some bad shit in her past. Here's another Chris-Remy-Rogue chappy, but no ROMY. Sorry. In a couple chapters we'll get some more, promise.

Shout outs:

Rogue77: Gotta love the Romy chapters! Hope you like my new stuff.

Rouge4eva/romy4eva: Chris is rooting for the Romy too! She's trying to help her friend. Thanks for the review.

Yumiko: Not TOO perfect. Promise. And she's not a punk/goth… her "Sinister" connection aren't what you think they are. Trust me. Hope you like the next chappy even tho no Romy.

Ishalfahand: You're reviews make me so happy. I feel loved. Hope you enjoy the new stuff. Thanks again.

Arielle2: She's not good at everything, especially her powers. I'm glad you like her. I hope you like the new chapters. Thanks for reviewing.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 11 – Secrets Revealed

Rogue's POV – 3:45 A.M Monday morning

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEE- Kitty phased her hand through the alarm clock.

"Like, Rogue, get up," came an annoying voice in Rogue's dream.

"Ah don't want ta get up Kitty," an angry voice snapped back. "Leave meh alone!"

"Wake-y, wake-y Rogue-y," the voice now had a sing-song tone.

"Fine! Ah'm up! Happy?" Rouge was clearly not a morning person.

Kitty phased into the closet and came back out in her X-Men uniform. "You better change. Mr. Logan will freak if we're late again."

"Yeah, yeah." Rogue grumped. She quickly threw on her uniform and sighed.

"Ready to go?" the younger girl held out her hand to phase down.

"Sure, but let's stop in the kitchen for some coffee, 'kay?" Rogue knew she needed a pick up.

"Like, no problem," the Valley girl responded. "Though I don't know how you can put that crap in you're system."

They phased into the kitchen. Rogue drank a cup of coffee and Kitty ate a quick bowl of cereal. Then they phased into the Danger Room. They expected to find Logan waiting for them. What they found was a simulation already in progress.

"Rea," called a simulated goon.

"Come out, come out wherever you are?" another goon taunted.

Suddenly the first goon was hit by a roundhouse kick. The guy stumbled before a girl wearing an all black outfit. She had on a tight spandex halter top that showed midriff, with a silver belly button ring, and cleavage with tight black leather pants. Her boots were black leather with heals and her long brown hair was tied in a pony tail and braided down her back. She had on a black chocker with thick black leather bracelets on both wrists. She also had on a thumb ring, 6 earrings (2 on one ear and 4 on the other), and a silver necklace with a ring on it. She appeared to be using some kind of three pronged knife to fight the bad guys. She took down three of the goons before when one came up behind her and grabbed her. She flipped him easily and did two back flips before hitting the last goon. "Got it," she cried triumphantly as she grabbed a silver crystal. The simulation faded leaving two very confused X-Men and Rea.

"Who are you?" cried Kitty shocked by the display she just witnessed. "How did you get in here? And, like, what are those?" She pointed the weapons she was wielding.

"Um…" was all an equally shocked Rea could manage. Rea turned and gulped in fear when Logan entered the room.

"Stripes, half-pint," he grunted at the two girls X-Men before looking up at Rea. He smelled her scent and his eyes popped open. "Beanie?" He looked at her shocked. "What are ya doin' here? What are ya wearin'? What's goin' on?" Somehow Logan managed to look shocked and pissed at the same time. 'I think I recognize that girl, but from where?'

"Chris? Rea? What's the hell?" cried Rogue shocked. Logan's eyes widened at this name. Chris looked away ashamed of Logan's gaze.

"Wha-wha-" Kitty couldn't even formulate a sentence.

Chris's eyes darted around and she looked like a caged animal. She was about to run out of the room when Professor Xavier cut in. Chris, please don't run again. We won't push you. We'll wait until you are ready to talk. I promise.

Okay Professor. Thank you. Chris exited the Danger Room without a word.

The Professor then turned his attention to Logan and the girls. Logan, Kitty, Rogue, please forget what you've seen here today. Chris isn't ready to expose her past to us yet. Do not push her. She will come to us when she is ready.

Okay Professor. Kitty was bummed that she couldn't share this juicy gossip.

Whatevah Professor Rogue was confused.

Charles Logan was worried. Rea? I know that name. I know you know it too. Are you sure she's safe. I mean, she hid it from us. And last night, I smelled that Cajun card thrower on her clothes. She could be double crossing us. Wouldn't be her first time on the dark side.

Logan Professor Xavier was afraid of this reaction. We will discuss this in my office later.

"Stripes, half-pint," Logan snapped them out of their trances. "Let's get started."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chris's POV – After being caught in the Danger Room

Chris ran out of the mansion full force. The sun came up and she started to fly. She needed to get away from the truth. She flew for a long time. 'Just when I need that thief, I have no way to reach him,' she thought angrily. Just then she spotted the familiar trench coat in the park. 'Or I could be wrong.'

She landed in the park and ran up to him. "Rems!" she cried. "They know. By the way, what the hell are you doing out at this hour?"

"Remy be t'inking 'bout 'is _chere, so he decided t' take a walk t' clear 'is mind," answered Remy simply. "Now dere's de Rea Remy remembers." He gestured to her spandex and leather outfit and smirked until he saw the tears streaming down her face. "Ray-Ray, what happened?" Chris again grimaced at her old nickname and Remy noticed. He sat down on a nearby bench and tapped the spot next to him. Chris sat down next to him and buried her head in his chest as she sobbed. He stroked her hair, looking at his old friend with concern._

Finally she looked up at him and sighed. "This morning," her voice was barely above a whisper as she fought back the tears, "I went to the Danger Room dressed as Rea. I programmed the scenario from the night I stole the Silver Mai-Tai crystal from the Boston Thieves Guild. I expected to be through before the morning session for Kitty and Rogue began. I never thought they would show up early. And they caught the end of my workout, heard me be called Rea. They didn't even recognize me. It would have been okay, except Logan came in and heard Rogue call me Rea. He knows. Professor Xavier knows. What am I going to do?" Chris broke down in sobs again.

"Aw _petite_," Remy soothed. "Dey'll understand. Dey'll be dere fo' y'."

"No!" she cried violently. "They'll never understand. They'll never accept me for who I am. Not that I would blame them. I can't even accept me."

"Go home," Remy said in a strong voice. "Remember dat y' have a home t' go t'."

Sniff, "Thanks Remy." Sniff. "I'll be going now." Chris got up to leave.

"Here," Gambit handed her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. "A gentleman should always offer his help. Do y' need a ride?"

"Nah. Gotta fly," she smiled slightly. "Thanks again. You didn't have to help me but you did, just like always. Jean-Luc would be so proud to know he raised you right."

Remy's face darkened slightly at the mention of his estranged father but quickly hid it. They hugged and then she flew away enjoying the feeling of air rush by her. She landed back on her balcony and proceeded into her room. She found a very pissed-off Logan and a very confused Rogue waiting for her.

"Who's Rea? Why'd that man call ya that?" Rogue looked at Chris with confused eyes.

"Kid," Logan started but then he paused smelling something. "Ya smell like Cajun! Ya're double crossing us aren't ya? You're working for Magneto." He unsheathed his claws and bounded across the room at her. As a reflex, she pulled out her Sais to block the attack.

Rogue, hearing the Cajun remark raced out of the room with tears streaming down her face. Momentarily distracted, Chris called after her, "Rogue!" Realizing she should turn her attention back to the angry man with claws at her throat she suddenly became defensive. "No, you got it all wrong." Tears welled in her eyes. "Last night, I ran into Gambit in the forest. I had gone out to get some air. I recognized him as my old _amigo Remy LeBeau."_

"I'm not surprised yer friends, yer both liars and thieves," Logan interrupted rudely.

"Anyway," Chris continued curtly trying to force the memories away, "he and I talked for a while about our pasts and presents. I couldn't exactly talk to anybody at the Institute you know."

"Alright," Logan responded, "but why do I smell him now?"

"This morning I ran, or more accurately flew, away. I saw him in the park and we talked some more. I was scared but he told me to come back to my home. My new home. Where they would listen and try to understand." Chris sighed as she finished her story. 'I hope they do understand or at least listen to me,' she prayed silently.

"Fine." Logan nodded and left the room. Chris exhaled. 'Didn't even realize I was holding my breath. _Mierda_. Rogue. Her heart must be breaking. I have to go talk to her.'

Chris ran down the hall and to Rogue and Kitty's room. She heard Rogue throwing things around through the door. Chris winced as something that sounded like a boot hit the door. She sighed and grabbed her lock picking tools and easily picked the lock. 'Never leave home without it,' she thought smugly. "Rogue-" she started softly.

"Leave meh alone ya-ya leatha clad whore!" she cried out angrily.

"It's not what you think," Chris tried again.

"Get out," Rogue said coldly.

"Fine but before I do," Chris crossed the room and took her bare hand and placed it on Rogue's face. She concentrated on her meetings with Remy and then pulled away when she started to feel weak. Rogue stared at her in shock. This girl was hurting. Chris swayed on her feet before finally collapsing on Kitty's bed. She didn't pass out right away, but she only managed a "Woah," before sighing and letting the darkness come. Rogue concentrated on Chris's memories. She sorted them, then watched them like a movie. Rogue smiled to herself as she realized that everything Chris said was true. "Ow," was the first thing Chris said as she regained consciousness.

"Why did ya do that, sugah?" Rogue asked with a sincere smile on her face.

"You had to know the truth," Chris whispered in  return. "Remy and I are old _amigos_, there is nothing between us."

Rogue smiled and nodded. "Ah know. But that's Ah still can't see him anymo'."

"Look, I knew Rems a few years ago. Something's changed about him. It's love. He loves you, touch or no touch. He would never intentionally hurt you. Give him a chance." Chris smiled as she turned to leave the room.

"Hey Chris?" Rogue said it as more of a question than a statement.

"Yeah." Chris turned around to face the Goth.

"Why do ya always weah baggy pants now? Ah mean, ya used ta wear tight ones. An' ya neva wear black anymo'." Rogue was genuinely confused.

"It's all part of my disguise. No more black, leather, tight pants, high-heeled boots, or strait hair, though it's naturally curly so a lot easier to take care of." She smiled before continuing, "I need to be incognito, so I changed my wardrobe and look in hopes of being anonymous. Plus, I can hide my weapons much easier. My Sais," Rogue looked confused so Chris clarified "the three pronged thingy, and my lock picking tools are easily hidden. Plus my throwing stars." She winked at Rogue's surprised expression.

"Oh," Rogue sighed, "too bad. We coulda been Goth girls togetha." Chris smiled at this remark. Gothic was never really her look, she was more the leather vixen. Still, maybe she could salvage her look yet. She grinned and waved as she exited the room.

Once Chris returned to her own room, without much of a door left courtesy of Wolverine, she sat down and became immersed in thought. 'What should I wear to school? I mean, first impressions are the most important, right?' She contemplated for some time before realizing that the answer lay in her closet. With that thought, she proceeded to throw every item of clothing she owned around her room until it looked like a tornado hit. 'Crap. All I've managed to do is destroy my room. Still no outfit. Hmm…' She milled through her clothes, contemplating until she found what she was looking for. A light grey baby t-shirt that matched her eyes and showed some midriff and her belly button ring with navy baggy drawstring cargo pants and Pumas with a light grey stripe. She didn't bother to change her jewelry except to remove the leather choker and wrist bands and to put on tons of rubber navy bracelets. (A/N: like the black ones when she first arrived) She put on black eyeliner and burgundy lip gloss for effect. She smiled at her reflection before seeing Kitty and Rogue phase into her room. Kitty and Rogue both smiled before offering their hands and together the three girls phased into the back of Jeans SUV.

"Ready for your first day Chris?" Jean was trying to be friendly but Chris could tell she was preoccupied by other stuff.

"Yep. I'm almost excited, except, you know, it's school and all." She laughed a little. Amara and Jamie climbed in as well. Jamie got shot gun because the backseat was crowded enough without his clones running around. Scott's car contained the rest of the students. The two cars took off towards the school. They dropped off Jamie at the middle school before coming to the high school. Chris's throat was tight and she felt apprehensive. Silently she prayed everything would be alright. As she exited the SUV, she saw the Bayville High School sign and she knew this was going to be a long day.

Okay, so please, please, PLEASE R&R. We both know you want to, so stop fighting it.


	12. The Kat vs the Speed Demon Part 1

Author's Note: Here's a bonus chappy just 'cause I want to get the Kietro in there. Just to clear things up, I have Pietro in the same English class as freshman even though he's a sophomore. For the sake of the story, let's just say that English at Bayville High School is the same as at my high school, where the freshman and sophomores are combined. It makes my life much easier and the story makes sense that way. After this is a Romy and another Kietro before the final chappy which is all about Chris. Then there's the sequel, which includes TONS of Romy and Kietro – along with some fun fighting. Hehe.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 12 – The Kat vs. the Speed Demon

Kitty's POV – Before her first class

Kitty suppressed a giggle. She watched Pietro break up with blonde bimbo #1 for the week. 'Another one bites the dust,' she thought gleefully. She hated Pietro but she hated the garbage he dated more.

As she moved closer to her locker, unfortunately only one locker away from Pietro's, she heard the dumb blonde whine, "But Pietro, I thought we had something special." 

Kitty snickered slightly. 'Ha, like Pietro ever had a meaningful relationship.'

"Sorry babe," the speed demon ran a hand through his silver hair. "It's just not gonna work out."

Kitty smothered another giggle as she walked away. When she reached her first class, Computer Sciences, she realized she left her notebook in her locker. Silently cursing her rotten luck, she made her way back to the emptying halls. She saw Pietro with another bimbo, this time a brunette, making out against the lockers. Kitty smirked, 'That was fast, guess they don't call him Quicksilver for nothing.' Suddenly her amusement turned to anger when she realized the couple was leaning on her locker. 'Ugh. I do not want to break them up but I need that notebook.' Silently she walked over and tapped Pietro on the shoulder.

He jumped a foot in the air before turning to glare at her. "What's your problem Pryde? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yeah," his bimbo agreed. "What do you want?" They sneered at her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm, like, totally late for my class and you're leaning on my locker." She blushed slightly, more out of anger than embarrassment.

Chris walked by after meeting Principle Kelly and getting her schedule. She noticed the couple talking with Kitty. Well, more like arguing. The boy was handsome with a lean but muscular physique. He was pale with piercing eyes and odd but attractive silver hair. She could tell by his body language that he was incredibly proud and arrogant. The girl was some cheerleader with a forgettable face and not too much else going on. She could practically feel the hostility from the couple towards Kitty but there was something in the way that Pietro tormented Kitty. Something that reminded her of schoolyard boys teasing the girls they like. 'This ought to be interesting,' Chris thought.

Pietro smirked. 'Time to mess with the pretty kitty,' he thought cruelly. 'She is so easy to rile up.' "Look Pryde, why don't you, like, go cough up a fur ball and, totally, leave us alone." Pietro mimicked her Valley girl accent.

Kitty's face became red with anger as she yelled, "Well Pietro, why don't you, like, take bimbo of the moment and go shove your tongue down her throat somewhere other than on my locker." She had enough of his crap. 'The nerve of that asshole!' she thought angrily. 'First, I save his life and all he says is "Thanks. But you just about miffed that, slowpoke." And now he's blaming me for needing to use MY locker. Argh! I hate him.'

"Whatever," Pietro shot back. "Come on Michelle, let's go. I think loser is contagious."

The brunette spoke up with a giggle, "My name's Sheri, not Michelle." She laughed.

Kitty snickered at this development and Pietro shot her a Death Glare to rival Rogues. "This is not over Kitty-cat," Pietro sneered as he walked off with Sheri.

Kitty sighed and got her notebook out of her locker. 'Great,' she thought sadly. 'Now my life is even more messed up. Just great.'

Chris watched silently as Kitty trudged back off to her class. 'That girl's got more guts than I thought,' Chris sighed inwardly. 'I wish I could help…' An idea sparked itself in her head. 'Maybe I can…' Chris walked off in the same direction as Pietro. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chris's POV – Entering her first class, European History

"Class," spoke up Ms. Mitchell, "we have a new student." The entire class suddenly shut up and listened attentively. "Chris Cruz from Boston, Massachusetts has moved to Bayville." All the girls sat up eagerly expecting a new boy instead an attractive girl entered the room. She was average height and clearly very fit with nice curves. Her outfit consisted of a pale grey baby tee that showed some midriff and a belly button ring and hugged her curves and baggy navy drawstring cargo pants with Pumas that had a light grey stripe that matched her shirt and she wore her regular jewelry. She had gorgeous curly brown hair and striking pale grey eyes. Her skin was light tan and she almost seemed to glow where the sunlight hit her skin.

"Hi, I'm Christina Cruz," Chris was slightly taken aback by their surprise. "But my nickname is Chris." The girls seemed disappointed but the boys seemed more interested now. Chris approached the teacher and said quietly, "I know I'm only a freshman, but at my old school I was taking European History not Government."

The teacher nodded and pointed to a seat next to the boy that she had seen arguing with Kitty only minutes earlier. "You can sit there Miss Cruz. The boy on the left is Pietro Maximoff, it appears that your next class, Honors English, is with him as well so I'm sure he'd be happy to show you to it." Pietro quickly nodded in agreement. "The girl on the right is Deborah Chang and the boy in front is Mike Gleeson. Would you like to tell us anything about yourself before we begin?"

Chris shook her head and made her way silently across the room. 'What should I say? I'm a mutant, I have a dark past, I am bilingual. No, better to stick with D none of the above.' All eyes were on her. She smiled politely and sat down. Pietro looked at her with mild interest and muttered a "Hey" before turning back to the girl on his left, some red head who was giggling stupidly. Deborah was much friendlier. The Asian girl helped Chris see where they were in the book and what the lesson was on. Luckily for Chris they were in almost the exact spot she left off at with her old school. At the end of the period, Chris packed up her things and turned to see an expectant face.

"Ready-to-go-yet?" he asked hurriedly.

"Yeah," replied Chris. "Pietro, can I ask you something?"

"Well I think you just did," the boy retorted at normal speed. He seemed to have chilled a little.

"How long have you liked Kitty?" she inquired innocently.

Pietro nearly spat out of shock. "What-the-heck-are-you-talking-about?" His pace quickened once more. "Me-like-Pryde, that's-just-plain-laughable." He proceeded to laugh to prove his point. "Lance-is-the-only-hood-boy-that-can-tolerate-the-kitty-cat."

"Okay," responded Chris nonchalantly. "Whatever you say. It's just, you seem to enjoy teasing her, and it's so obvious you're attracted to her." She smirked at his reaction.

"Huh?" Pietro stopped cold and turned around to look at the new girl incredulously.

"I overheard your little confrontation with Kitty this morning. I know you were so totally turned on by the fact that Kitty won't put up with your bull shit. You must find it attractive that she fights back because you were so provoking her. I've watched enough people to know how to read them and you're so damn obvious. You're little "school boy who picks on the girl he likes" routine is so tired." Chris smiled at his shocked face.

"Wait," Pietro was suddenly struck with a thought, "If you could read my body language and tell how I was feeling, then you could also read Pryde's body language and tell what she was feeling. So, what was she feeling?" Pietro's mouth was in a smirk but his eyes betrayed him. He was dying to know.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Chris shot back. "I mean, she'll probably tell you without much of an argument. She seemed pretty pissed but I think there might have been something else there." The two teens reached their classroom and Chris winked at Pietro before going over to Kitty and Sam and sitting with them. The desks were broken up into groups of four desks in each group.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pietro's POV – Honors English class

Pietro stood outside lost in thought for a moment. The bell woke him out of his daze and he darted inside. There was only one desk left open and it was at Kitty, Sam, and Chris's group. Pietro groaned inwardly before moving to sit with them. Kitty was lost in thought and Sam and Chris were stealing glances at each other. 'Great,' Pietro thought. 'Just my luck. I'm stuck with three X-Geeks, two of them are making goo goo eyes and the other one hates my guts. Well, better make the best of it and piss off Pryde as much as possible.'

"Hey Kitty-cat," a taunting voice pulled Kitty out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Pietro. 'Why me?' she silently asked. 'Why does life choose to torment me.'

"What do you want Pietro?" her voice was cold as ice. She looked at him and sighed. This day just got even longer.

Before Pietro could respond with one of his many retorts, the teacher started class. "Now class, since we've been reading Romeo and Juliet, I've decided to give each of you a partner or group and a scene to act out. I will pair you off now." The teacher proceeded around the room picking the people for the different scenes. When she reached Pietro and Kitty's table, she did something quite unexpected, "Since your table is already in two couple's why don't I just leave you like this. Pietro and Kitty, you'll have the balcony scene. Sam and Christina, is it?" Chris nodded. "You two will have the scene after they spend their first night together." The four teens nodded, dumbfound by what had just happened. Sam and Chris both blushed slightly when she announced their partnership but when she announced the scene they would be performing, they were both scarlet. Pietro and Kitty on the other hand were both sulking because of their rotten luck.

'Why me?' Kitty thought again. 'What did I do to deserve this punishment?'

'Oh well,' Pietro shrugged. 'If I'm stuck with the kat, I might as well make it miserable for her. Chris might be right, I do get turned on when she's angry. And she does look hotter when she has a slight blush and a glare on her face. Woah Pietro, don't let that new X-Geek confuse you. You hate stupid Valley girls like Pryde. Yeah, that's the way to think.'

Kitty interrupted his thoughts. "Um, Pietro, like, when do you wanna practice?"

Pietro smirked as he turned to her. "Like, whenever you want. I'm, like, totally there," he mimicked her accent.

"Whatever," Kitty muttered. "How about after school in the park?"

"Sure Pryde. Hey you made it through a sentence without saying "like". You must be so proud," he commented sardonically. He smirked again as a small blush crept onto her cheeks. 'This'll be so much fun. She'll hate it.'

"Shut up Pietro!" Kitty had taken about enough. "Look just because I don't worship the ground you walk on, doesn't mean you have to, like, totally, treat me like crap. You're just some high school playboy who has a huge ego that needs deflating. And besides," she smirked slightly, "I can't believe that you made it through a conversation at a normal pace. Must be some sort of record for you."

Pietro glared at her for a moment before responding. "Whatever Pryde. Meet me by my car after school and I'll give you a ride to the park."

Pietro wasn't sure if heard correctly but it sounded like she muttered a quick "Thanks" under her breath before turning back to the lesson. 'Pryde and me, working together,' he thought about it for a moment. 'Wonder if we'll survive?' He sighed before turning his attention to the teacher as well.

Read. Review. Please. And just to clarify, the reason I made this a Kietro as well is b/c it always bugs me in the actual cartoon how Pietro seems to single out Kitty to tease, when Evan is his big "rival", ya know? In my opinion it is that school boy teases the girl he likes thing, so yeah. Don't hate me for it. I'm only human.


	13. Freedom

Author's note: And onward with the ROMY. This is the last Romy chappy before the sequel. There are only 2 more chapters left. I promise that it'll be good in the sequel too. Hope you enjoy this new stuff. Romy fluff!!

Shout outs:

Arielle2: Thanks sweetie! I hope you like the new stuff. Here are my updates. :)

FairyDustCloud: Yeah, I love the Kietro too. School yard crushing. Hehe. Next chappy is more Kietro. Promise.

Destiny Pheonix: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hope you like my updates.

Yumiko: As requested, here are the updates. Enjoy! Thanks for the constant responses!

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 13 – Freedom

Rogue's POV – Lunchtime in the cafeteria

Rogue leaned back in her chair. She was tired of all the gossiping, it wasn't really her thing. Her third and fourth classes had been with Kurt and Chris. She smiled as she thought. Chris was fun to have in class. She was quite entertaining. In Advanced French, she had told the teacher to "shove off" in Spanish before delivering a perfect speech in French and finished with a "Who shoved a stick up your ass" in Portuguese. Rogue laughed at her antics. Rogue didn't have to pay attention in French either. She had been learning it when she lived with Irene. She was practically fluent herself. Chris was also in her Geometry class, even though it was sophomore math. Chris was really good at math so instead of paying attention she pissed Pietro off all period. Pietro was trying to be cool and hit on some girl but Chris pulled out all the dramatics claiming Pietro had dumped her and fake crying. By the end of the period, Rogue was nearly in tears herself from laughing so hard.

"Like, what are you smiling about?" came Kitty's perky voice. She had finished gossiping with Jean.

"Ya and Pietro." Rogue answered stifling a grin. Chris had shared all the details about the project and the fact that she was partnered with Sam, by that time everybody knew about their Friday date. Of course, Chris let it slip that Kitty was partnered with Pietro.

Kitty groaned and sighed. "Don't remind me please. I can not wait until this day is over."

"Why? So ya and Pietro can go ta the park." Her tone insinuated something romantic might happen. Suddenly the entire table was listening to their conversation.

Kitty glared at Rogue. "Yeah, the park. To *work* on our project." Kitty emphasized the word "work". The last thing she needed was a Scott and Jean speech about responsibility or enemies or something equally boring. To be perfectly clear she added, "And I'm looking forward to it like I look forward to one of Mr. Logan's Danger Room sessions."

Rogue smiled at this comment but she suddenly felt empty. "Ah'm gonna go take a walk befo' class," she told her best friend before clearing her place. Kitty offered to come with her, but she just wanted to be alone for a moment.

Rogue walked out of the front of the school. She smiled slightly. There was a very handsome Cajun holding a bouquet of lilies of the valley leaning against his motorcycle. She smiled and asked "What're ya doin' heah Swamp Rat?" Then she frowned and sighed. "Ah told ya Ah can't see ya anymo'."

"Remy won' accept dat _chere_," Gambit answered. "Remy loves y' and he's not letting go." He swiftly got up and walked over to her. He handed her the flowers and smiled at her. Then he unexpected kissed her. Just for a moment. Enough for her to see that he meant what he said. Enough to show her that he did love her.

Rogue smiled. He did love her. And she loved him. 'No,' she scolded herself. 'What kinda relationship is that? We can't touch. I won't put him through that. Besides, how long will he be in love with something he can never have.' She avoided his gaze. "Thank ya for the flowas, they're beautiful. But Remy, Ah can't be with ya. Ah love ya. But Ah just can't."

"_Non chere_. Y' t'ink hidin' from de pain makes it go away. Y' t'ink y' protectin' y'self will preven' more pain. Y' don' have t' be scared. I won' leave y'. I won' stop lovin' y'. No matter what." Remy pulled her to him. He hugged her tightly. "I will never let y' go."

Rogue pulled away and looked up into his eyes. His beautiful devil eyes. She loved them. She loved him. "Alright Swamp Rat," she said after a moment. "Ah'll let ya take meh out again."

"Let's go _chere_," Gambit motioned to his bike.

"Uh, Ah have class," Rogue pointed out with a look that said 'Duh.'

"So," replied Remy smoothly. "Not like y' never broke de rules before." He smirked.

"Let's go," she agreed suddenly. 'It's about time I threw caution to the wind. Don't wanna end up like Scott with a huge stick up my ass.'

"Dis time," Remy said carefully. "Remy is drivin'." He climbed on the bike and patted the seat behind him while handing her a helmet.

"Fine Swamp Rat," she muttered in return as she climbed on behind him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waste cautiously. As they zipped out of the parking lot Rogue simply thought, 'I'm free.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rogue's POV – An hour later, arriving at a secluded beach

Gambit swiftly parked the bike and hopped off. He offered his hand to Rogue who gave an unladylike snort before lifting herself off. Then she saw the view. "Woah," was all she could manage.

"T'ought y' migh' like dis _chere_," Remy said huskily as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly for a long time until Rogue turned to face him.

"Ah neva wanna leave ya. Ah want ta stay in ya arms foreva." Her deep green eyes stared strait into his passionate red on black eyes. He offered her a reassuring smile. She suddenly looked down and continued, "but, we're enemies. What happens when we have ta fight eachotha? Ah don't wanna hurt ya but..." she trailed off still avoiding his gaze.

Remy's heart sank. He knew she was right. "Remy is not sure what t' do yet _chere," he admitted to her. "But, jus' know dat I would never hur' y'." Gambit squeezed her tighter not wanting the moment to end. "Remy can' leave 'cause Magneto be blackmailing Gambit."_

Rogue sighed slightly. "Ah bet Professor Xavier would be willing to help and–"

"_Non," interrupted the Cajun. "It jus' wouldn' work. Let's jus' hold each ot'er here an' fo'get 'bout everyt'ing else." Remy tightened his grip on Rogue and thought, 'Maybe Rogue is right, maybe I could join Xavier. I don't know, but I'm never leaving Rogue.' After a few minutes Remy pulled away. "Remy better take y' back Rogue. Y' don' wan' t' be too late home. De Wolverine migh' come after dis Cajun."_

Rogue nodded and slid on the bike. Giving a smirk to rival his own she repeated what he told her earlier, "And this time, Ah'm drivin'." She opened her hands to reveal the keys and started the engine. Remy gaped at her slightly. "What, ya thank ya the only one who can pick pockets? Ah don't thank so." Rogue started the engine and put on the helmet. "What? Waitin' for an invitation Swamp Rat?"

Remy shook his head and immediately hopped on behind her. She took off grinning all the way. When they returned to the mansion, she hopped off and handed him the helmet. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before running inside. 'Remy loves that crazy _fille_, that's for sure,' Remy thought as he watched her race inside. Shaking his head with a smile, he hopped on his bike and rode away.

Read. Review. Don't ask what happened to the flowers… plot hole. Hehe. Two more chapters left.


	14. The Kat vs the Speed Demon Part 2

Author's Note: And to compliment the Romy fluff, a little Kietro fluff. But no worries, they're still arguing. Mostly. *wink, wink* One more chapter, to cement Chris to the X-Men family, and then onward with the sequel. Assuming people want a sequel.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente

Chapter 14 – The Kat vs. the Speed Demon Part 2

Kitty's POV – After school in the parking lot

"Kitty, have you seen Rouge?" Scott asked impatiently tapping his foot. He wanted to get home and he was supposed to drive her. Kitty had already explained that she had to work with Pietro on their stupid scene.

"Nope," replied Kitty. "She, like, wasn't in Gym and Kurt said she wasn't in biology either."

"Hmmm…" Scott thought for a minute. "Oh well. I'm sure if she needs a ride she'll call the institute or something. Maybe she went home sick or something." Scott really didn't have time to worry. He had a Danger Room session, tons of homework, and a date with Jean. He was busy and Rogue was holding him up. "Are you sure you'll be alright with Pietro?" Scott was concerned.

"Yeah," Kitty looked dejected. Then again, who wouldn't if they had to spend their whole afternoon with the traitorous Pietro Maximoff.

"Well, see ya," said Scott as Kurt BAMFed into his car. Ray, Chris, and Sam were already there. Jean had taken her SUV along with Amara and Bobby to pick up Jamie and Roberto at the middle school.

Kitty sighed as she watched them drive away. 'I knew this was going to be a long day,' she thought angrily. She became totally wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice Pietro come up behind her.

"Thinking about me Kitty-cat?" Pietro asked playfully. Kitty jumped a full foot in the air.

"You wish," she retorted. 'Long, long, LONG day,' she chanted in her head.

'Knew it would be easy to get her riled up,' Pietro thought smugly. "Let's go then. Neither of us wants to do this but it's not like we have much of a choice." He led her to his sports car and hopped in the driver's seat. She stood there watching. "Waiting for an invitation?" he asked sardonically.

She just glared and got in the passenger's side. They drove to the park and went over to a picnic table. Each of them removed their scripts. Before they started, Pietro couldn't resist pushing her buttons once more. "Think you can survive reading the dialogue without adding "like", "totally", or "Ohmigod" into the play. I think Shakespeare would roll over in his grave if he heard it." He mimicked her accent once more before smirking at her triumphantly.

Kitty shot him an evil look before retorting, "Well, at least Shakespeare could, like, understand what I say. Think you can manage to talk at a normal speed?" She shot him a venomous look. "Let's just get this over with, okay? I'm sure you have some bimbo waiting for you somewhere and I have other homework I need to do."

"Is that your whole life?" sneered Pietro. "X-Geeks and homework. No wonder Lance dumped you. You have no life. Bet you don't even go out on dates."

Kitty's eyes filled with tears at the mention of Lance's name. They had definitely parted on bad terms. She forced the tears back and glared at him once more. She had taken enough crap from him. It was time to put him in his place. She was so angry, she even lost her Valley girl accent. "First of all, I can get dates. I go out all the time. Secondly, I have a life. Sorry if we can't all be fast-talking playboys who get their kicks treating women like ATM machines. At least I'm a good person. I mean, I saved your life and you didn't even have the courtesy to thank me. In fact, you insulted me and you continue to insult me every time we meet. You're nothing but a-a good-looking jerk!" Done with her rant, she crossed her arms and proceeded to glare at him some more.

Pietro's eyes widened at her sudden outburst. Then he laughed.

"What's so god damn funny?" Kitty asked through clenched teeth.

"You called me good-looking," he grinned.

Kitty groaned exasperated. "That's all you heard. God Pietro, sometimes I totally hate you. So what if I called you good-looking. I didn't mean it like that." Pietro raised his eyebrows, giving her a dubious look. She decided to use an analogy to clarify. "It's a fact, not, like, a compliment. It would be like me saying the grass is green."

Suddenly Pietro's face became serious. "Look Kitty-cat," he said with his eyes down focusing on the ground. "I'm-sorry-I-didn't-thank-you-for-saving-my-life. I-was-a-real-jerk." He sped through his apology like it was painful. 'Why did I just apologize to her?' Pietro was shocked at himself. 'Maybe that stupid X-Geek Chris was right… Nah. I just felt bad for her. Yeah. That's it.' His heart told him otherwise but he chose to ignore it.

Kitty looked at him in shock. 'Did he just apologize to me?' she thought. 'Nah. It's Pietro. The guy never apologizes. But I know what I heard. Hmm… I guess there's a first time for everything, ya know.' "You're welcome," she whispered. Now she too was gazing at the ground in fascination.

Pietro interrupted their uncomfortable silence. "Well-I-guess-we-better-get-started," he said.

She looked at him confused. "Huh?"

Pietro sighed and gave her a 'could you be any stupider?' look before repeating himself at a normal speed, "I said, well I guess we better get started."

"Oh. Okay," was all she said.

The two teens proceeded to act out the scene. Kitty sat on the table, which represented the balcony. Kitty reached her first real speech. "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name;" Suddenly Kitty let out an unexpected giggle.

"What?" Pietro was surprised and annoyed. 'What's with this Valley girl anyway?'

"Deny thy father," she scoffed. "Like you could do that Pietro."

"I could so deny my father," Pietro shot back. "It's just, you know – he's the master of magnetism. You're afraid of him, why shouldn't I be? He's probably the most powerful mutant on the planet."

"I mean, sure you could deny him. You choose not to. You sold out your friends for him. Whatever," Kitty muttered. "Let's just get on with it. I'm sorry I, like, brought it up."

"It's your line," Pietro prodded rolling his eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Kitty blushed slightly before continuing. "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

'She's so hot,' a little voice in Pietro's head told him. 'She might as well be saying, "O Pietro, Pietro! Wherefore art thou Pietro? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a X-Man."' He saw Kitty looking at him expectantly. "Oh, my line. Right, sorry." He glanced at the script and they continued the scene. When they had finished, they looked at each other. Pietro helped her off of the table and stood there with his arms crossed expectantly. He had an idea. "You know, in the movie, they kissed in this scene Kitty-cat."

Kitty's face immediately turned scarlet. "So what's you're point?" She was giving him major attitude and glaring at him. 'I don't want to kiss Pietro. Ew. No. Wait. Do I? No, no, no, maybe?'

'She's so cute when she's mad,' he thought. "Hey, I'm just saying. If we want to get the A, we're gonna have to go the extra distance." He smirked at her angry expression, but his eyes gave him away. 'He wants to kiss me!' thought Kitty in shock.

"But this is only their second kiss. So we don't have to, like, practice right?" Her face looked hopeful, but her eyes had passion in them. 'She wants me to kiss her,' Pietro thought confidently. 

He took a step towards her as he responded, "Yeah, but if we don't practice, we might bump foreheads or something really embarrassing. I'm not going to be humiliated in front of the class because you were scared." Pietro's smirk grew.

Kitty's eyes flashed. "I'm. Not. Scared." She said through clenched teeth. Each word a statement. She too took a step forward.

"Prove it," Pietro shot back his face was nearly inches from hers.

'Fine I will,' Kitty told herself. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled herself up on her toes, leaned in, and kissed him. 'Ohmigod! I'm kissing Pietro. What the hell is going on?' she was so confused. A realization hit her. 'Oh no. I think I like it. Shit, shit, SHIT!'

Pietro put his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer as he leaned down so Kitty's feet rested firmly on the ground. The kiss was innocent at first but he slowly deepened it. Pietro's mind was spinning. 'Me and Pryde. This is so wrong. I have all these feelings and… am I enjoying it?' His body confirmed it. He was definitely enjoying the kiss. 'That girl Chris was right. Damnit. I'm attracted to her. Damnit.'

'Ohmigod. I think Pietro might be excited. Ohmigod. The world is crazy. Ohmigod.' Kitty was in shock. Her head was reeling. Suddenly she let it all go. 'Who cares? I like it.' She smiled inwardly.

They stood in the park, making out. "Kitty?" a voice interrupted their moment. 

'Shit. Amara is here.' Kitty pulled away. "'Mara? Is that, like, you?" Kitty looked for her friend.

"Yeah," the voice called back. "I'm across the street."

Kitty spun around and saw her teammate making her way towards the couple. 'Crap. She saw us. I'm dead.' She looked at Pietro who returned her gaze with a smug look. 'And Pietro's just gonna add me to his list. Great.' She glared at him. "Is there a reason you look so smug?" she hissed at him.

"You kissed me," he whispered back. "I can't believe you actually kissed me." He seemed more awestruck than she thought he would. He recovered quickly adding, "I didn't think you had the guts."

Kitty was becoming more and more peeved with every word that left the speed demon's mouth. "Well, don't expect it to happen again. I was just lost in the moment. Unrequited love is so, like, totally romantic. We had our first kiss, just like Romeo and Juliet. Now our second one will be in class, just like Romeo and Juliet's second kiss."

"Whatever Pryde," replied Pietro with an aloof look.

She glared at him once more before turning to greet her friend. "'Mara, what are you doing here?" she inquired with a smile.

"I had to get out of the house. Bobby is really pissing me off," the island princess huffed. Kitty tried to look sympathetic as relief washed over her. 'Good,' thought Kitty. 'Clearly she didn't see us making out.' Amara was still rambling. "I mean, come on. How many times can you pull the same prank and still think it's funny. He's so immature." Amara pouted. Then she noticed Pietro standing there awkwardly. "What's he" pointing to Pietro "doing here?"

"Pietro and I are working on a scene for English class," Kitty answered quickly before Pietro could even mutter a sound. "It's Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh." Amara could have cared less. The slightly spoiled princess was worried about her own problems at the moment. And, for once, Kitty was glad she was acting self absorbed.

"So I guess we'll call it a day," Kitty looked at Pietro pointedly.

"Yeah, whatever Pryde." He was a little bitter. She acted like their kiss was meaningless. 'I felt fireworks, why didn't she?' "Do you girls need a ride?" he asked surprised at his own thoughtfulness.

"Sure," Amara cut in before Kitty could think of an excuse. "That way Scott won't complain about having to play chauffeur."

The three teens walked to Pietro's car. Amara continued to rant about Bobby and his insensitive ways. Pietro and Kitty were silent, both completely absorbed in their own thoughts. When they arrived at the mansion, Amara bounded out with a quick "Thanks" leaving Kitty and Pietro sitting silently.

Kitty turned to look at the handsome teen. "Well, thank you for the ride. It was totally nice of you to offer when you didn't have to."

"No problem Pryde," replied Pietro smoothly looking at the brunette beside him. "So I'll see you in class tomorrow?"

"Yep," responded Kitty nonchalantly, avoiding his piercing blue eyes. "And we'll probably have to, like, practice again."

"Yep." Pietro was careful to avoid her eyes too.

"Well, bye." Kitty hopped out and closed the door. She offered him a small smile before turning to leave. 'Guess the kiss meant nothing to him. Stop it Pryde. You will not fall for that jerk. Even if he is handsome. No, don't think like that. He's a playboy. Don't let him play you.'

"Yeah, bye." Pietro's eyes followed her into the house. 'Damn. I think I've fallen for that X-Geek. What am I going to do?'

Kitty silently closed the door to the mansion and leaned against it lost in thought. Suddenly a pair of big brown eyes looked strait at her. "Amara!" cried Kitty surprised. "I thought you were, like, gone."

"So are you going to tell me why you were sucking face with the enemy or do I have to make Jean read you to find out?" Apparently the princess had seen more than she let on. All Kitty could do was gape at her friend with wide eyes.

Read and review plz. One chappy left. It'll be about my OC. And then the sequel will come with some interesting twists and TONS of Romy and Kietro fluff. REVIEW PLZ!! You know you want to.


	15. Explaining the Past

Author's note: This is another Chris chapter and it kinda explains her past. Chris is sorta a blabber mouth but she's secretive about her past. At least, she would *like* to be. Anyway, here's the last chappy. I'm going to write a ROMY and KIETRO filled sequel. Along with tons of twists and maybe a girl for Wolvie. Also, Sam/Chris and Amara drama.

Shout outs:

Ishalfahand: Damn strait she picked his pocket. She's gotta keep the thief on his toes. :) Promise Romy in the sequel.

Rogue4eva/remy4eva: Thanks for your compliments. You're too sweet. And you're making my head big. Oh well, who needs to wear hats. Hope you like my ending.

Destiny Phoenix: Gotta love the fluffiness. I know I do. Watch out for my sequel, more fluff promised. But also arguments and drama!!

Arielle2: I love the Amara stuff 'cause she seems so innocent but no! Kietro will be plentiful in the sequel. No worries. But knowing those two, they're going to have trouble getting it together.

GambitsGal: Thank you for reviewing. I hope you like the ending and the sequel. Enjoy.

**Making a Connection**

by, Caliente__

Chapter 15 – Explaining the Past

Chris's POV – After the kids, minus Kitty and Rogue, arrive home from school

Chris, would you please join Ororo, Logan, and me in my study the Professor's thoughts invaded her mind as soon as she entered the mansion. We've talked with your family and now we'd like to talk with you.

Chris felt her muscles tighten with fear. Sure Professor she projected fearfully. She made her way to his office after bidding good-bye to the other teens. She hesitated at the door before reassuring herself. 'Come on _chica. They already know. The damage is done. Just go in and take whatever it is that you deserve. Be strong.' She sighed and pushed the door open. Unlike the last time that she went to the room, this time the feelings were not kind and reassuring. Hank looked at her curiously, while Ororo looked sympathetic for her situation. Logan's angry glares were less than soothing and Professor Xavier's eyes screamed disappointment. 'Great. They must hate me.' She sighed again._

"Chris," Ororo started. "Child, please sit. We won't push you. We just want to hear your story."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked back sobs. "_Sí," she whispered so quietly that only Logan heard her with his heightened senses. She was so upset that she didn't bother to translate her Spanish slips. "I guess I should start at the beginning. _Mi padre_, Christopher Stone, was working for the Queen's Secret Police and _mi madre_, Isabella Maria Santiago Cruz, a.k.a. Stealth," at this name Logan's eyes widened with disbelief and Professor Xavier's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, "was working for the Columbian Government Spy Ring. __Mi madre was a mutant who had cat like reflexes, agility, and always seemed to land on her feet. They met as they were both searching for information on the Weapon X program–"_

Logan interrupted when he heard that name. "Weapon X," he growled, "What did they want with it?"

Chris looked confused. "How should I know? I think their governments were interested in forming their own programs. I don't know why they wanted to know about you."

Logan's eyes narrowed as he tried to comprehend. "You've known I'm Weapon X. What the fu–"

Logan the Professor cut him off. I think we should allow Chris a chance to tell her whole story and please watch your language. Logan grunted in agreement before turning back to Chris expectantly.

Chris took a deep breath before continuing, "Like I was saying, they met and fell in love. They ran off together and were married. 2 years later they welcomed me, Christina Isabella Cruz Stone, into the world. They went on to have my two _hermanas Alexandria and Michelle. They trained all of us in the ways of the spy. They made sure that we could use weapons, have amazing fighting skills, logical thinking, could speak many languages, and had proper morals. As our _padres_ were raising us, they would also were working as paid thieves and assassins. We were vaguely aware of their activities; however we were not part of it. When I was 11, _mi madre_ was kidnapped by Dr. Nathanial Essex, a.k.a. _Señor_ Sinister" At this name, all of the teachers cringed. Though the X-Men had never had a run in with him, he was well known to the adult mutants for his horrible cruelty and terrible genetic experimentation. "for mutant experiments. __Mi padre sent my two sisters to live with _mi_ __tío _y tía_ so he could go rescue our _mamá_. I refused to go and stop my training, so _mi padre_ agreed to let me join the Bawston Thieves Guild for 2 years." To show that she wasn't lying Chris moved to expose her ankle. There was a small tattoo of a family crest with the initials TG inside. "The mark of the guild," Chris told the adults as she pointed to the tattoo. "It's for those who work with the guild but are not members." Ororo's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp._

"Ah, so you know of the guilds Storm," Chris said in a nonchalant sort of way. "So you're either a thief or an assassin. Interesting."

"Child, in my past I was many things, a thief included," came Storms calm reply. "I once knew the Prince of Thieves even." She let out a small laugh. "Or at least part of me did." She smiled slightly before adding, "But this is not the time. Please continue your tale."

Chris eyed the Weather Witch with interest before picking up her story, "The Guild promised to keep me safe and in return I would work with them. I decided that I should probably pick up an alias to keep my childhood identity separate from my new one. My _mamá_ had always said that I was her sunshine, so I decided to use the Egyptian God of the Sun as my namesake. Re was a God, so I changed it to Rea because I wanted it to be strong but feminine. I'm not at liberty to discuss Thief business, however during one of my summer vacations, I was allowed to visit the New Orleans Thieves Guild" at the mention of the New Orleans Guild both Storm and Logan's eyes became very wide. Logan seemed to mutter something like "Cajun" under his breath while Storm seemed to suddenly be lost in a memory. Chris however, chose to ignore them and carried on, "with three other senior thieves. While working with the guild, I met Remy LeBeau who was 15 at the time." Now even the Professor and Hank's eyes were wide.

"Child, you know Remy LeBeau?" inquired Storm with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Yes," Chris answered meekly. She didn't like where this was going. "He and I worked together…"

"Damn Cajun," muttered Logan.

"So, you knew one of Magneto's Acolytes before he joined him. Tell me –" the Professor began.

"I know why he joined Magneto," Chris cut in. "It's because of who he was working for before he joined Magneto but that comes later."

"Very well," replied Xavier. "Please continue."

Chris nodded. "I became Remy's "partner in crime" around town. After three months, I returned to Bawston, I was greeted warmly by the Guild and served the remaining 9 months of my agreement. I heard nothing from Remy and all I know is that he was banished from the guild and New Orleans. After my time with the guild, I went to live with _mi tío y tía_ who were still receiving the occasional letter from _mi padre alerting them to the fact that he was still alive and he was looking for _mi madre_. A year passed, I continued thieving for game and training myself. I even met up with a girl named Yuriko and we did some work together. Unfortunately she was using me to help her get revenge and I broke all ties with her.  Then when I was 14, I received a cryptic message from Dr. Nathanial Essex, or _Señor_ Sinister, telling me that I if I could acquire the Mai-Tai crystal, I could save _mi padres_. The Bawston Thieves Guild already had their eyes on it but dressed as Rea, which was still my thieving identity, I intercepted them after the theft. I managed to take out the 5 thieves and steal the crystal. I traveled to Dr. Essex and found an awful laboratory full of death and torture. As I waited I saw Gambit hiding in the shadows and Dr. Essex laughed and told me that Remy, or Gambit as he was called, worked for him because Gambit was in debt after Dr. Essex helped him with his mutant powers. I found _mi padre_ severely beaten and _mi madre_ all but dead from his experimentations." Chris tried to choke back the sobs but they overcame her. Tears raced down her face. Storm came over and put a comforting hand on my shoulder._

"Shh my child," she whispered soothingly. "If you cannot continue, we understand."

"No," Chris cried defiantly, "I'll continue." Her voice dropped to a whisper that was barely audible. "I-I put _mi madre_ out of her misery," fresh tears rolled down the young girls cheeks. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to force the words out. She looked around the room, her eyes begging forgiveness, "I stabbed her in the heart with my Sais blade. She managed to mouth a _gracias_ (thank you) before she was gone." The teachers all looked shocked. This poor girl, having to kill her mother to stop her pain. Having to live with that for the rest of her life. Chris hurriedly continued her story, "I managed to save _mi padre because Dr. Essex was good to his word and at the time, neither of us were mutants so he had little use for us. I gave him the crystal in exchange for _la vida de mi padre_ (my father's life). I returned with _mi padre_ to Bawston and as soon as he was fully healed he left again. He decided to rejoin the Queen's Secret Police because now that his __esposa (wife) was gone there was no point to stay. He abandoned me because he blamed me for her __muerte (death)." Chris's voice became decidedly harsher as she spoke of her abandonment. "He took __mis hermanas with him and refused to contact me. About half a year later, I found out I was a mutant when my powers manifested while I slept one morning. The rest you already know." With that said Chris rose from her chair and headed for the door._

"Beanie where are you goin'?" asked Wolverine in a gruff tone. "We're not finished here."

"I think we are," Chris stated curtly in a tone that reflected her anger and hurt. Her eyes were still brimming with tears as she continued, "I'll be gone by nightfall."

"Child, please," Storm pleaded with the young girl, "we don't want you to leave." Ororo moved across the room and joined the child. She pulled the girl in a comforting hug.

Chris moved back and locked her pale grey eyes into the Weather Witches brilliant blue ones. "I-I–" Chris took a deep breath before trying again. "I'm just not sure that I belong here."

"Nonsense," Hank interjected. "We all have things in our past and present that are hard to deal with, present company included. This is the best place for you, where you are with your own kind."

"Yes," Ororo concurred, "They will understand and accept you for who you are. You are now a part of this family and we won't let you leave unless you want to."

"Thank you for your kindness," replied Chris with a small smile through her tears. "Must I tell the other students of my past?"

"Share what you wish," answered the Professor. "But keep in mind that secrets do not build trust. You may return to your room if you wish."

"Okay," Chris said in a small voice. "Thank you." She gave a short wave as she exited the room.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Storm asked cautiously after the girl exited the room.

"I can't say," Professor Xavier answered looking up at the concerned woman. "But I think that she'll be able to overcome her past hardships." He smiled at the instructors. "She's a strong young girl."

Wolverine nodded and smiled to himself. 'Beanie'll be just fine.'

~*~*~*The End*~*~*~

I hope you enjoyed my story. Look out for my sequel if you enjoyed this one. I think I'm gonna call it "Unexpected Connections" but I'm not 100% sure. It should start really soon. It'll pick up right where this one left off. So I'll happily take any suggestions you want to dole out. I hope to get some feedback… Thank you all for reading. Adios for now.


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